Houston Basketball Hangs On To Defeat BYU In Big 12 Conference Tournament Quarterfinals
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Houston basketball defeated the BYU Cougars 73-66 in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament on Thursday night, inside T-Mobile Center, in Kansas City, Mo.
The Houston Cougars are coming into this tournament seeking back-to-back Big 12 tournament victories, as they defeated Arizona 72-64 last season.
Up next, Houston will play the winner of Kansas and TCU on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. for a spot in the championship game.
Houston vs BYU Game Recap
After getting off to a hot start, Houston basketball led by as many as nine points early on in the first minutes of the quarterfinal round.
However, BYU’s dynamic duo of freshman forward AJ Dybantsa and sophomore guard Robert Wright III took control of the first half and led BYU to a 41-34 lead with under 30 seconds remaining.
Houston’s senior forward Kalifa Sakho was able to complete a three-point play right before the buzzer to trail by four points at the half.
Dybantsa and Wright didn’t make the second half any easier as they combined for 41 points in the contest.
With Houston’s backs against the wall, freshman guard Kingston Flemings took charge and led the team with a 17-point performance to lead them to victory.
College basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla referred to Flemings as “the closer” multiple times towards the end of the game, and he will need to be just that for Houston to have success in the big games going forward.
Houston’s bigs also took charge in the game, showing improvement on both ends of the floor.
Junior forward Joseph Tugler helped pick up the slack on the offensive end, finishing with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
He also shined on the defensive end, ending with eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
Freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. only missed one shot in the contest, finishing the game with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Cenac and Tugler were able to keep Houston in the game by their commitment to grabbing offensive boards, and the Cougars finished with 14 tonight which led to several clutch baskets.
Sophomore guard Mercy Miller and freshman forward Chase McCarty continue to find their fit on the roster, and their bench production will be key in this tournament.
Miller played 14 minutes, finishing with six points. He also was able to give Houston a boost by being another point guard with Flemings on the bench a good portion of the second half due to foul trouble.
After scoring a career-high 20 points, McCarty had much less of a role in tonight’s game, but he came in clutch when he was needed.
Just as BYU was on the verge of making a late surge, McCarty sunk a deep three which gave Houston a comfortable six point lead with just over three minutes remaining.
McCarty gives Houston another much needed three-point shooter, and he can also get in the paint and help with offensive rebounding, making him an X-factor the rest of the season.
Houston now looks to take on the winner of Kansas and TCU tomorrow night in the quest to win back-to-back Big 12 Conference Tournaments.
Ashton Grissom is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He is currently a senior at the University of Houston and majoring in Sports Media Production with a minor in Marketing and Spanish. He also works for two student organizations: The Cougar and CoogTV. You can find Grissom on his Instagram (@ashtonagrissom8) or Twitter (@ashtongrissom8).