The No. 4 Houston Cougars grabbed a massive conference win Tuesday night, outlasting BYU on the road for a 75-68 win.
Houston, ranked 4th in the nation was searching for their third straight conference win and first Big 12 road win.
UH and BYU went back and forth in the first half trading buckets.
From the jump, BYU started off hot even going on a stretch of hitting eight of nine shots. But the Cougars were able to keep up and eventually go on a 6-0 run into halftime leading 41-34. 34 points is the most UH has allowed in a first half all season.
The Cougars were efficient from the field and on the perimeter, shooting 50% from three and in the paint. Jamal Shead led all scorers at the break with 12 points at the break, shooting 45% from the field.
After Houston quickly extended its lead to 12 out of the half, BYU answered with 9 straight points to close the gap. UH withstood the run though, matching that with a 10-0 run of their own to go up 56-43 with 12:40 left in the game.
The final ten minutes consisted of a close score, with both teams playing physically and scoring in waves. With 2:00 minutes left, the score was tied 68 a piece. With UH already in the bonus, Shead, J’Wan Roberts and Emanuel Sharp all made clutch free throws to take the lead and eventually seal the game for UH.
UH improved to 17-2 on the year and 4-2 in conference play. Houston returns home Saturday at 11 a.m. to play Kansas State for the first time this season.
sports@thedailycougar.com
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“No. 4 Houston escapes BYU with massive road win” was originally posted on The Cougar