No. 2 Houston Basketball Rolls over Rider

The Cougars jumped out to a commanding 17-2 lead early within the first five minutes thanks to some 3-pointers. Flemings picked right back where he left off offensively with a three created from a turnover and followed that up with a made jump shot. 

Senior point guard Milos Uzan knocked down a 3-pointer and freshman forward/center Chris Cenac Jr. hit one of his own. McCarty also joined in the party early with a triple that made it 22-8. The bench increased their contribution as sophomore guard Mercy Miller made a couple of shots as his minutes continue to grow. 

Flemings once again made back-to-back buckets with a driving layup and a corner three. Cenac Jr. added a layup of his own and his jump shot looked nice as well to get Houston’s lead up to 20 at 37-17.

The bench unit closed the first half with momentum as Miller hit a pull-up shot followed up by an impressive buzzer-beater three in the corner from McCarty who had to reach down and grab the ball and then put it up with the clock going down. 

Houston led 47-25 halfway through. Flemings was the leading scorer with 14 points and was a perfect 6/6 from the field. McCarty was behind him with eight points and three rebounds. 

The second half was complete domination by the Cougars as they outscored Rider 44-20. It began with a 7-0 run that included another three from Cenac Jr. 

Tugler made an impact offensively with a couple of his hook shots. Sharp started to take over with consecutive 3-pointers as well as a dunk. Houston’s lead approached 40 at 69-31. 

Tugler continued to score on offense with multiple hook shots and dominated in the paint. With just over five minutes to go, the Cougars led 81-41. As the game wound down, Miller had his best game of his young career with multiple shots and a layup. He ended up with 14 points on 6/10 shooting from the field. 

Next Up: 

Houston stays undefeated and improves to 4-0 after the most lopsided win of the year. The Cougars’ next game is in the Player’s Era Festival in Las Vegas on Monday against Syracuse at 5 p.m. The Orange are coming off a 78-73 win over Monmouth this past Tuesday.