2 Key Takeaways From Houston Cougars' Weekend Win Over Towson
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The No. 2 Houston Cougars capped off their first weekend action of the 2025-26 campaign with a ... win over Towson on Saturday at Fertitta Center to move to 2-0 on the season.
Though not the prettiest by standards, the win was mostly convincing as there were multiple bright spots throughout the contest that never points any signs or trends downward for the Cougars, as with a highly-rated freshman class as illustrated Monday night, there is bound to be growing pains in November and December.
There were ups and downs faced individually as while freshman guard Kingston Flemings posted 20 points, freshman forward Chris Cenac finished with a late field goal despite posting boards in double figures after a double-double on Monday, even posting the case with his mark today that he still looked like the best player on the floor.
Going in depth to Flemings' performance and other factors that made Houston's win possible, here are two key takeaways from this afternoon:
Kingston Flemings: An author of second chances
Flemings, in reaching 20 points just two games into his career, established himself today as an author of second chances for the Cougars with his on and off-ball athleticism.
He took part in the Cougars' defensive suffocation when he and Cenac began to trap redshirt junior guard Dylan Williamson near midcourt. Flemings didn't waste a second in issuing a steal to create a fast break dunk and force coach Pat Skerry to call a timeout at 14:10 in the first half.
This was a ball screen that the two had been working on every day, and it paid its dividends.
At 8:17, he forced another turnover to create a fast break dunk, in which these opportunities were only the beginning of his torrid stretch on the day. He ended up finishing 8-for-10 from the floor while going perfect from the stripe in three attempts.
This performance billed Flemings as an instant impact freshman, as this display showed his tenacity to never give up on a play and surge for the ball, even if ball security is jittery at times amongst freshmen.
Quality response to thin turnover margin
With 8:56 remaining overall, the Cougars had committed 12 turnovers on the afternoon and had only a +1 margin on the mark due to multiple high-flying action in terms of tipped passes or slip-ups. Flemings, Cenac, and junior forward Joseph Tugler each recorded three turnovers on their tallies.
For the rest of the game, Houston found consistent ball security again with a clean slate on the mark, while ballooning their turnover margin to finish at +6.
Michael Carrara is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He attends the University of Houston, where he is a journalism major and a marketing minor. He is also a sports writer and reporter for the Daily Cougar, having covered baseball as an NCBWA member. You can find Michael on all major social media channels, including X on @michaelcoalec.