Sophomore guard Quentin Grimes led the Houston Cougars to a big win over the Portland Pilots on Sunday.

Cougars take big win over the Pilots to open Hawaiian Classic

Cougars take big win over the Pilots to open Hawaiian Classic
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Nate Hinton

The Houston Cougars opened their Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic with an 81-56 victory over the Portland Pilots Sunday afternoon inside the Stan Sheriff Center in Hawaiian. With the win, the Cougars improve to 8-3 on the season and have won six of their last seven games.

After scoring four points on 2-for-15 (13%) shooting from the floor the past two games, sophomore guard Quentin Grimes bounced back in a big way by scoring a game-high 18 points (7-11 FG, 4-7 3PT), all coming in the second half.

It was a wire-to-wire victory for the Cougars after opening the game on a 6-0 run following a made lay-up attempt from junior forward Fabian White — who ended the game with 10 points in the win.

Houston had a solid offensive performance after connecting on 50% of their shots, but the Cougars' defense played the most prominent part in their win. UH held the Pilots to shoot 34.7% from the field, and a poor 29.2% from deep. Senior big man Chris Harris Jr. ended the game with a game-high three blocked shots, to go along with 13 points and five rebounds, including four on the offensive end.

In the loss, Malcolm Porter was the only player to score in double digits for the Pilots, as he led Portland in scoring with 11 points and five rebounds.

Following the win, the Cougars will continue their tour of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic to face off against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Monday night, in the Semifinals. Tip-off is slated for 6 P.M. CT.


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Kyle Tucker returns to Houston this weekend. Composite Getty Image.

Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.

The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.

The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.

On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.

Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.

It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.

The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.

How the mighty have fallen.

Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.

Screenshot via: MLB.com



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