Houston's freshman guard Caleb Mills scored a career-high 23 points in Cougars' loss to Oklahoma State.
Cougars four-game win streak comes to a halt against Oklahoma State
Dec 16, 2019, 6:00 am
Houston's freshman guard Caleb Mills scored a career-high 23 points in Cougars' loss to Oklahoma State.
With a little under three minutes remaining in the second half, Oklahoma State's guard Lindy Waters III scored a 3-point field goal over Houston's Brison Gorham as time expired off the shot clock. The made basket by Waters gave the Cowboys a late three-point advantage, in which Oklahoma State closed out the game on an 11-5 run.
Although the Cougars fought until the final buzzer, their efforts were not enough en route to a 61-55 defeat to Oklahoma State, Sunday afternoon, inside the Fertitta Center in Houston. With the loss, the Cougars fall to 6-3 on the season with their four-game winning streak coming to an end.
"Oklahoma State had a really good game plan and they executed it well," Cougars' head coach Kelvin Sampson said. "Coach [Mike] Boynton and his coaching staff should be really proud of the work they did today. This was a great win for them, but a disappointing loss for us."
Despite still coming out on the losing end, the final scored does not justify the tough task the Cougars overcame late in the game. Houston eased an 18-point deficit late in the second half thanks to a career night from freshman guard, Caleb Mills. Mills scored 20 of his career-best 23 points in the second half while shooting 44% from the floor. He was only one of two players who scored in double-figures for the Cougars, as Nate Hinton recorded 11 points (3-12 FG, 3-9 3PT) in the loss.
While shooting 43% from the floor to open the game, Houston led 16-15 when OSU's Dee Mitchell scored a 15-foot jumper to put the Cowboys ahead by one midway through the first half. Oklahoma State went on an 18-3 run, as the Cougars missed their final 10 field-goal attempts to close the half, as well as shooting 1-15 from the floor in the last 10 minutes of the first period.
"Today we disrespected the program and that is extremely disappointing," Sampson said. "It's rare that we let a team come in our building and out-compete us, and that is the thing that bothers me the most. To me, it does not matter who we play, we have to play to the culture of our program."
In the win, Yor Anei led the Cowboys with 18 points and eight rebounds, while forward Cameron McGriff added in 12 points with a game-high 10 rebounds for Oklahoma State.
Following the loss, the Cougars will look to return to their winning ways on Thursday, when they take on UTEP inside the Fertitta Center in Houston. Tip-off is slated for 7 P.M. CT.
Jalen Green scored 35 points, Alperen Sengun added 24 points and 13 rebounds and the Houston Rockets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 121-115 on Friday night.
Green finished 12 of 24 from the floor and was 5 of 11 on 3-pointers. Amen Thompson finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Houston, which shot 50%, including 13 of 26 on 3-pointers.
Jabari Smith Jr had 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench in his first game back after missing 22 games with a broken bone in his left hand.
Anthony Edwards scored 37 points on 13-of-32 shooting, including 4 of 14 on 3-pointers. Edwards scored 25 points in the first half on 8-of-15 shooting, including 3 of 7 on 3-pointers.
Naz Reid had 22 points and eight rebounds, Jaden McDaniels added 21 points and Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 16 points for Minnesota, which shot 45%, including 11 of 39 on 3-pointers.
Timberwolves: Mike Conley returned to the lineup after missing four games with a sprained right index finger, but he was in foul trouble for most of the night and finished with five points in 24 minutes.
Rockets: One area that coach Ime Udoka pointed to before the game where Smith’s return would help was rebounding. Houston outrebounded the Timberwolves 48-35.
Tied at 108, Green made a 3-pointer with five minutes remaining to kickstart Houston’s 9-2 run to open up a seven-point lead with 48 seconds left.
Edwards was 1 for 6 in the fourth quarter, including 1 of 4 on 3-pointers. He scored 3 points in the quarter as Houston sent double teams at him.
Minnesota hosts Oklahoma City on Sunday night, while Houston travels to Utah on Saturday night.