The Houston Cougars win their third straight game
Grimes leads Cougars to road victory over the UCF Bulls
Feb 12, 2020, 11:30 pm
The Houston Cougars win their third straight game
The Houston Cougars held a two-point advantage (53-51) late in the second half when Quentin Grimes knocked down an open 3-point field goal off an assist by Fabian White Jr. The basket scored by Grimes was enough to keep the Cougars in the lead en route to a 62-58 victory over the South Florida Bulls, Wednesday night, inside the Yuengling Center in Tampa, FL.
While improving to 10-2 in conference play, the Cougars have now won eight of their last nine games following the win.
While scoring nine of his final point-total in the final three minutes, Grimes led Houston on the night with 22 points (6-14 FG, 3-6 3PT), six rebounds and five assists. His performance Wednesday night marked the first time since the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Class in December, where the sophomore guard from The Woodlands scored over 20 points.
Despite the game coming down to the final seconds, it was a wire-to-wire victory for the Cougars. Houston opened the first period on a 10-4 run, which gave way to a 31-26 lead into the halftime break. While connecting on five of his seven field-goal attempts, Fabian White Jr added in 10 points and five rebounds, as the junior big man came up tremendous on the defensive end with two steals and a block in the win.
With only two players scoring in double-figures, senior guard Laquincy Rideau led the Bulls with a team-high 21 points shooting 63.3% from the floor, while his backcourt mate, Nate Hinton, added in 13 points in the loss.
Cougars' head coach Kelvin Sampson moved past Alden Pasche as the third-winningest coach in school history, trailing only Guy Lewis (592) and Pat Foster (142).
Following the win, the Cougars will hit the road on Saturday to take on the 17-6, 7-4 SMU Mustangs inside the Moody Coliseum in Dallas. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. CT.
The Rockets got back in the playoffs after a four-season absence with a revitalizing season under coach Ime Udoka. Houston won 52 games despite lacking a top-25 scorer and relying largely on defensive intensity — but that formula hasn't looked like enough to take four games from Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler.
When/where to watch: Game 5, 7:30 p.m. EDT (TNT)
BetMGM says: Rockets by 4.5
The Warriors seized control of this feisty series Monday night by taking over in the fourth quarter. Butler did much of the work while playing through injury, scoring 23 points in the second half and 14 in the final period.
For all their toughness, the Rockets' lack of a top offensive player was glaring in Game 4. Leading scorer Jalen Green didn't get a bucket in the fourth quarter — not even taking a shot during the 7:02 he spent on the court — and finished with just eight points.
Yet the Rockets will draw hope from the fact they kept it close, with Fred VanVleet missing a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Houston is hoping a return home will spark Green, who hit eight 3-pointers and scored 38 points in the Rockets' Game 2 victory.