No. 2 Houston Basketball Rolls over Rider
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No. 2 Houston Cougars basketball comfortably took care of the Rider Broncs on Thursday night at home in the Fertitta Center with a 91-45 win.
This was the best offensive showing of the young season for Houston as they crossed the 90-point mark and the most dominant with an incredible 46-point margin.
The Cougars shot 56% overall from the field and hit 10 3-pointers on a 38% clip from beyond the arc. Houston forced 23 turnovers and had 33 points off of them. UH also had 23 fast-break points compared to just eight for Rider. The Broncs were limited to just 31% from the field.
Freshman point guard Kingston Flemings was the leading scorer for Houston again with 18 points on 8/10 shooting along with five assists. Senior guard Emanuel Sharp added 15 points and five assists of his own, even though he is not a point guard. Junior forward Joseph Tugler scored 12 points and was the leading rebounder with nine boards.
Houston vs Rider Recap
The Cougars jumped out to a commanding 17-2 lead early within the first five minutes thanks to some 3-pointers. Flemings picked right back where he left off offensively with a three created from a turnover and followed that up with a made jump shot.
Senior point guard Milos Uzan knocked down a 3-pointer and freshman forward/center Chris Cenac Jr. hit one of his own. Redshirt freshman forward Chase McCarty also joined in the party early with a triple that made it 22-8. The bench increased their contribution as sophomore guard Mercy Miller made a couple of shots as his minutes continue to grow.
Flemings once again made back-to-back buckets with a driving layup and a corner three. Cenac Jr. added a layup of his own and his jump shot looked nice as well to get Houston’s lead up to 20 at 37-17.
The bench unit closed the first half with momentum as Miller hit a pull-up shot followed up by an impressive buzzer-beater three in the corner from McCarty who had to reach down and grab the ball and then put it up with the clock going down.
Houston led 47-25 halfway through. Flemings was the leading scorer with 14 points and was a perfect 6/6 from the field. McCarty was behind him with eight points and three rebounds.
The second half was complete domination by the Cougars as they outscored Rider 44-20. It began with a 7-0 run that included another three from Cenac Jr.
Tugler made an impact offensively with a couple of his hook shots. Sharp started to take over with consecutive 3-pointers as well as a dunk. Houston’s lead approached 40 at 69-31.
Tugler continued to score on offense with multiple hook shots and dominated in the paint. With just over five minutes to go, the Cougars led 81-41. As the game wound down, Miller had his best game of his young career with multiple shots and a layup. He ended up with 14 points on 6/10 shooting from the field.
Next Up:
Houston stays undefeated and improves to 5-0 after the most lopsided win of the year. The Cougars’ next game is in the Player’s Era Festival in Las Vegas on Monday against Syracuse at 5 p.m. The Orange are coming off a 78-73 win over Monmouth this past Tuesday.
Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.