Houston Cougars Receive Huge Bench Contribution in Rout of New Orleans

The Houston Cougars find a big scoring output from their secondary unit.

Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson looks on from the sideline during the first half against the Jackson State Tigers at Fertitta Center. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Cougars once again take care of business, with another comfortable victory on Saturday afternoon as they cruised over the New Orleans Privateers 99-57 to pick up their tenth win of the season.

Per usual, it was a defensive ensemble for the Coogs, holding the Privateers to just 57 points on the afternoon. Through the first 11 games of the season, this is now the Coogs' seventh time holding an opposing team to under 60 points.

And on the offensive side of the court, it was an efficient shooting day for the Coogs, shooting above 50 percent from the field and nearly 50 percent from three-point range as a team. Additionally, Houston received a big contribution from one portion of its team on Saturday afternoon.

Houston's Bench Lights Up the Scoreboard

Houston Cougars guard Mercy Miller (25) dribbles the ball as Jackson State Tigers guard Delyle Williams (12) defends during the first half at Fertitta Center. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Today, while the Coogs got their usual production from their starters in guard Kingston Flemings and forward Chris Cenac Jr., with both freshmen scoring 15 points, shooting a combined 11 of 19 from the field, it was a big game for the Cougars' bench unit.

Houston ended the game with 48 of its 99 points in the ballgame coming from its bench players. As a unit, the Coogs bench made 15 of their 24 shot attempts for an effective 62 percent shooting percentage. From beyond the arc, the bench found the same level of efficiency, making 7 of their 13 three-point shot attempts for a 53 percent three-point shooting percentage.

Leading the way for the Cougars' bench unit was redshirt freshman forward Chase McCarty, who ended the afternoon tied as the Coogs' leading scorer with 15 points alongside Flemings, Cenac, and another player from the bench. McCarty was extremely impactful in his 14 minutes, making four of his five shot attempts, three of four from beyond the arc, along with six rebounds, a block, and an assist.

The other bench player who scored 15 points for the Cougars was sophomore guard Mercy Miller, who was perfect from the field in his 21 minutes of game time. Miller made all five of his field goal attempts and cashed his only three-point attempt of the day, while also ending the game with two steals, one assist, and a rebound.

Of the 11 Cougars that checked into the ballgame on Saturday, 10 of them scored a point against the Privateers. With Ramon Walker Jr. scoring eight points, shooting three of four from the field in his 15 minutes of game time, Isiah Harwell notched six points on a difficult 1 of 7 shooting day, and Cedric Lath scored four points, making both of his shot attempts in 17 minutes.