National Basketball Association
Houston 69, Cincinnati 56
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 3, 2016
Where: Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston, Texas
Officials:
# Bryan Kersey, # Keith Kimble, # Olandis Poole
Attendance:
4171
By The Sports Xchange
Houston's Damyean Dotson and Rob Gray Jr. paced a balanced attack, and the host Cougars damaged short-handed Cincinnati's NCAA Tournament hopes with a 69-56 win Thursday.
Dotson scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Gray finished with 13 points for Houston (22-8, 12-6 American).
Cincinnati was missing two starters, forward Shaq Thomas and guard Farad Cobb, due to injuries.
Troy Caupain led the Bearcats (21-9, 11-6) with 19 points, while freshman Jacob Evans scored 14.
Cincinnati, which was considered to be squarely on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, finishes the regular season against No. 24 SMU on Sunday.
The Bearcats hit their first three 3-point attempts and jumped out to a 9-2 lead, thren quickly cooled off. Houston responded with a 20-3 run to take command and went into halftime with a 33-20 lead. Cincinnati shot 28 percent from the floor in the first half.
Houston pushed its lead to 16 early in second half and answered a late challenge by Cincinnati. The Bearcats closed within seven on a pair of free throws by Gary Clark. However, Houston's Galen Robinson Jr. converted a three-point play, helping the Cougars put away the Bearcats.
Devonta Pollard added 11 points for the Cougars, who have won three in a row and six of seven overall.
Top Game Performances
Cincinnati |
|
Houston |
Troy Caupain 19 |
Scoring |
Damyean Dotson 13 |
Troy Caupain 5 |
Assists |
Robert Gray Jr. 4 |
Gary Clark 13 |
Rebounds |
Damyean Dotson 7 |
Octavius Ellis 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Devonta Pollard 7 |
Gary Clark 1 |
Steals |
Robert Gray Jr. 3 |
Gary Clark 2 |
Blocks |
Bertrand Nkali 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Cincinnati
|
56 |
33.3 |
8-22 |
14-21 |
9 |
34 |
5 |
2 |
12 |
Houston
|
69 |
40.7 |
5-18 |
20-25 |
9 |
31 |
7 |
5 |
5 |