No. 1 Houston Cougars Survive Thriller vs. No. 22 Auburn
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Freshman guard Kingston Flemings shined in Houston’s 73-72 victory over the Auburn Tigers on Sunday afternoon inside Legacy Arena, in Birmingham, Ala.
Flemings led the team with 22 points, including 18 in the first half, and he carried Houston to a tough win over a solid Auburn team.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 4-0 on the season, and the freshmen have been impressive even against stout competition.
Houston vs. Auburn Recap
It came down to the final possession for Auburn, but senior forward Kalifa Sako sealed the game with a block in the final seconds on the Tigers sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford.
Houston’s young talent showed up in a huge way on Sunday, with the three freshmen accounting for 45 of the team’s 73 total points.
Freshman center Chris Cenac Jr. showed out, scoring 18 points, including two made 3-pointers. He also finished with a block and nine rebounds, one shy of a double-double.
Freshman guard Isiah Harwell is still working his way back from a knee injury, but he managed to play 21 minutes tonight.
In that time, he scored the team’s only bench points, ending the day with five points, three rebounds and an assist.
After a quiet first half for Houston’s returners, the trio of starters got it going to close the game.
Senior guard Emanuel Sharp came up big down the stretch, ending with 13 points and two made three-pointers. He also played solid defensively, finishing with a block and an assist.
Senior guard Milos Uzan continues to struggle shooting the ball, shooting just 4-for-11 in the game. He did however hit a clutch three that put Houston up seven in the final minutes. Uzan ended with 11 points, two assists and a steal.
Junior forward Joseph Tugler once again played solid defensively, finishing with two steals and a block. The veteran forward arguably had his worst all-around game this season, committing several turnovers and he missed several layups. The big man finished with four points and seven rebounds.
Overall, this was a solid test for Houston and it was a great measuring stick to see where coach Kelvin Sampson’s team is at this early in the season.
While there is still work to be done, Houston’s freshmen showed that they can compete amongst some of the most talented players in the league.
The Cougars got revenge on Auburn after losing early to the Tigers last season, and the team showed many encouraging signs.
Houston will once again be a force in the Big 12 Conference and be one of the top teams in the country.
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).