It wasn’t just another home game for the Cougars on Saturday night against Florida State, this game was under the bright, city lights of the Toyota Center…and Houston came out looking like pros.
Blindly pick any starter on the stat sheet and you’ll see that they played a big part in the Cougars 82-67 win over the Seminoles.
The 8th seeded Cougars are building momentum again, winning their second straight game after losing for the first time this season two weeks ago in Vegas. Houston led the entirety of the game by playing their signature style of basketball. Houston scored 18 points off of 19 turnovers, led by a career night for guard Kingston Flemings on the defensive end, securing eight steals.
“Fourteen defelections!”: The first words from Coach Sampson when Kingston’s steals were mentioned. “Kingston’s a great young man and his character allows him to be coached. He’s been really good in practice and it’s carrying over to games,” said Coach Sampson.
Offensively, team scoring leader Emanuel Sharp had 27 points, hitting six of twelve beyond the arc. Taking advantage of the gaps in the Seminoles zone defense, guards Kingston and Milos combined for 13 assists, most going to Sharp.
“We have two great points in Milos and Kingston who are really unselfish. When we get the ball moving that’s when we’re at our best,” Sharp said. “We had a ton of plays where we’re making one mores (the extra pass). That just speaks to the character of everybody and the sets that coach puts us in and it all worked out,” Sharp continued.
Chris Cenac Jr. also had a noteworthy night, gaining his fifth double double of the season with a strong 15 points and 10 rebound night. The Cougars are now 4-1 when Cenac finishes with 10 plus in both categories.
Even with the solid win, there were some sore spots that will need to be addressed as they approach conference play. Florida State’s bench outscored Houston’s 31-6, as well as having more second chance points—gaining 18 compared to Houston’s 7.
“It’s usually the other way around,” Coach Sampson explained. “Our first shot defense is really good. It was the second chance points that really hurt us tonight. We clean up the second chance points and a fifteen point win can easily be a twenty five point win.”
The Cougars will be back at the Fertita Center for their next two games. First being Wednesday at 7pm against the 1-8 Jackson State Tigers. Followed by Saturday afternoon at 2pm versus the New Orleans Pirateers. Houston is currently 8-1, fifth place in the Big 12 and ranked 8th nationally.
Written by Le’Raun Peron
