No. 7 Houston Rallies Late To Defeat Oklahoma State in Regular Season Finale
In this story:
The Houston Cougars defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys in a tight 82-75 game on Saturday afternoon, inside Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla.
Despite trailing 68 percent of the game, the Cougars made a late comeback to win their final regular season game.
Next up, the Cougars will prepare for the Big 12 Tournament that will take place from March 10-14 in Kansas City, Mo.
Houston vs Oklahoma State Game Recap
After an early 5-4 lead, Houston basketball trailed until late in the second half due to Oklahoma State’s hot offense.
The Cowboys made seven first half threes to lead by as many as 13 points, but the Cougars responded right before the break to cut the lead to four points.
For Houston, freshman forward Chase McCarty took the game over with a career-high 20 points and six made three-pointers.
With the Cougars having one of the least productive benches in the entire Big 12 Conference, McCarty’s performance shows that he could be a key factor moving into the NCAA Tournament.
He finished the game shooting 7-for-10 from the field and 6-for-9 from behind the arc.
Houston’s defense also turned up its intensity in the second half, forcing 11 turnovers that led to 21 points in the game.
Freshman guard Kingston Flemings followed in scoring with 13 points, and he also added five rebounds and nine assists.
This was one of his best games distributing the ball, and he is really becoming more of a true point guard in coach Kelvin Sampson’s system.
Houston’s other point guard, senior Milos Uzan, has taken a turn and has made a real effort to score more.
After Sampson had a conversation with the veteran guard to get his confidence back up, Uzan has been much more impactful in the scoring category.
Today, he finished with 11 points on 4-for-10 shooting. He also took eight three-pointers, which seems to be a clear focus to spark the Cougars’ offense.
Junior forward Joseph Tugler also stood out in his 33 minutes of play, finishing with 12 points and six rebounds.
Tugler now has had three-straight games in double figures, and when he is scoring inside is when Houston is at its best.
He also showed that if he can stay out of foul trouble that he can change the game defensively as he ended the contest with three blocks and two steals.
The Cougars have now completed back-to-back comeback wins to end the regular season.
With the win, Houston improves to 26-5 on the season and 14-4 in the Big 12.
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).