Road trip ends on high note
Gorham shines as Cougars handleMustangs in last of three straight conference away games
As theUniversity ofHouston continued preparations for SMU, coach Kelvin Sampson spoke to his team about every season having a pivotal game.
As many wins as UH has piled up the last five seasons under Sampson — 112, to be exact — it’s how the Cougars respond after a loss that has been even more impressive.
Quentin Grimes sparked a 10-0 run to begin the second half, and JustinGorham had 11 points and a careerhigh 19 rebounds to lead the fifth-ranked Cougars to a 7460 win over SMUon Sunday at Moody Coliseum.
UH rebounded from its only loss of the season to improve to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the American Athletic Conference. The Cougars have not lost consecutive games since the 2016-17 season.
“This was one of those pivotal games that kind of define our programover the last four or five years,” Sampson said.
The school announced before the game that Caleb Mills, the AAC’s preseason player of the year, was stepping away fromthe program for personal issues. Leading scorer Quentin Grimes sat on the bench scoreless and in foul trouble for most of the first half. SMU held a slight edge in rebounds.
Even so, UHtrailed by only one point as the first half
went back-and-forth with seven ties and eight lead changes.
After playing eight minutes and going scoreless in the first half, Grimes came out hot, producing a 3pointer, layup and pair of free throws — mixed in with a Gorham 3-pointer — as the Cougars turned a 33-32 halftime deficit intoa42-33 lead.
“The second half I just liked our execution, I liked the ball movement and I liked our rebounding,” Sampson said. “We looked like a Houston basketball team.”
UH had 28 rebounds in
the second half, including 11 on the offensive side. That led to 21 second-chance points.
“That’s who we are,” Sampson said. “At some point you have to be who youare. That’showwepractice, and that’s how we play.”
Practice has been in short supply during the past month after the Cougars forced to pause for two weeks because of a COVID-19 outbreak. Sampson said recently the entire team has notbeenable topractice together since Nov. 28. The schedule has also included five games in the last15 days, including three straight conference games on the road.
With five days to prepare for SMU, Sampson said the Cougars took last Wednesday off, spent Thursday and Friday “working on us” and Saturday and Sunday’s shootaround preparing for SMU.
“We needed a lot of work on us,” Sampson said. “On our offense, on our execution. It’s hard to do that when you’re not practicing and don’t have your guys.”
Marcus Sasser had 12 of his 17 points in the second half, while Grimes scored all 11 after the break. DeJon Jarreau chipped in 15 points and did not commit a turnover in the second half. Gorham, meanwhile, had as many rebounds (13) as the entireSMUrosterover thefinal 20 minutes.
“In the second half, everybody stepped up,” Sampson said.
SMU (6-1, 2-1 AAC) threatened to pull even on a couple occasions in the second half.
After SMU pulled within 44-39 with 13:19 left, Sasser hit a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws, and Gorham grabbeda reboundfor aputback to increase the lead to 51-39.
The Mustangs answered with a 10-2 run, capped by a layup byKendricDavis, who finished with a game-high 23 points. Again, the Cougars responded with a big run, this time fueled by two tough basketballs underneath from Reggie Chaney and seven points by Sasser.
UH made its final 15 free throws in the game, including all 12 in the second half.
“One of the hallmarks of good teams is you stay on the attack, especially on the road,” Sampson said.
UHfinished 2-1on the longest conference road trip of the season. Five of the next six games are at the Fertitta Center.
“It’s a big win, no question about it,” Sampson said. “Winning two out of three on the road is a huge accomplishment. I’m very, very proud of this team.”