COUGARS DEFEAT LONGWOOD
Top seed Houston has easy start to March Madness, pounds Longwood
Mar 23, 2024, 11:12 am
COUGARS DEFEAT LONGWOOD
LJ Cryer and Damian Dunn scored 17 points each as top-seeded Houston built a quick double-digit lead and pounded 16 seed Longwood 86-46 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.
Coach Kelvin Sampson's Cougars (31-4) lived up to their reputation for smothering defense. They led 10-0 less than four minutes into the game and held the Lancers (21-14) to 16 points on 26.3% shooting in the first half.
“I thought our kids were sharp the first half,” Sampson said. “Our defense was really good. We watched film on Longwood, winning their tournament. ... We had a lot of respect for them, and we played accordingly.”
Emanuel Sharp added 13 points and Jamal Shead finished with 11 points and nine assists for Houston, which will face Texas A&M on Sunday in the second round of the South Region.
Johnathan Massie led Longwood, the Big South Conference tournament champion, with 10 points.
“It’s really hard to simulate that level of physicality and speed and just how hard they play,” Longwood coach Griff Aldrich said, adding that he thought his team “broke” in the first half.
Houston, ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25, was coming off a 69-41 loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament championship game, but the Cougars showed no lingering effects as they won their sixth straight first-round game in March Madness. They came in holding opponents to an average of 57 points per game and 38% shooting, and Longwood fell short of those totals.
Sampson said the difference after the Iowa State loss was the Cougars' ability to get rest. Houston is dealing with injuries that have cut into its rotation, and Sampson said his team was spent by the time it faced the Cyclones.
“We came in on Monday, worked on our defense. Worked on our defense on Tuesday. And we started working on Longwood on Wednesday,” Sampson said. “We just needed to tighten some things up. I could see us slipping.”
Houston was aggressive and double-teamed at opportune moments, forcing 14 turnovers in the first half alone. Only three Lancers scored before halftime as the Cougars led 43-16 at the break.
“They're just aggressive,” said Longwood senior guard Walyn Napper, who averages 14.6 points but was held to eight. “They earned my respect. That's the reason they are one of the best teams in the nation.”
Houston led by 41 midway through the second half, at which point Sampson began substituting. No Houston starter played more than 29 minutes.
“We don’t really look at favorites or the seeding,” Shead said. “They’re a good team, and they were here for a reason. So we looked at it like another game where we have to have the right approach or we could have lost.”
BIG PICTURE
Longwood: The Lancers didn't have the talent or athleticism to get good looks at the basket against Houston. They shot 34.1% overall and 23.1% from 3-point range.
Houston: The Cougars' defense turned this one into an early blowout. Houston also shot 58.5%, including 11 of 23 (47.8%) from beyond the arc.
Christian Walker homered in a three-run second, Ryan Gusto pitched well into the sixth and the Houston Astros beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Wednesday night to sweep the three-game series.
CHRISTIAN SKYWALKER. #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/EZxbda3HT3
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 24, 2025
Walker led off the second with a home run to left off Bowden Francis (2-3), Yainer Diaz tripled and scored on Zach Dezenzo's RBI single and Yordan Alvarez capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly.
Gusto (3-1) allowed one run on three hits with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Gusto has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his three starts this season.
Bryan King pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, and Bryan Abreu threw a scoreless eighth.
George Springer walked, and Ernie Clement doubled with one out in the ninth, but Josh Hader struck out Alejandro Kirk and induced a flyout by Myles Straw for his seventh save.
Houston has won five of its last six.
Springer hit an RBI double in the fourth for the Blue Jays. They have lost five straight games.
Francis surrendered three runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. He has allowed three runs or fewer in four of his five starts.
Hader striking out Kirk and getting Straw to flyout to center to end it.
The Astros swept the Blue Jays for the first time since they swept a four-game series in Houston on May 14-17, 2015.
Julia Morales caught up with Walker after the game.
#Astros beat the Blue Jays 3-1
Christian Walker 2-4, HR & spoke with @JuliaMorales after the @astros WIN#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/MyRYdVwidH
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) April 24, 2025
Houston starts a three-game series Friday at Kansas City, with RHP Hayden Wesneski (1-1, 3.91 ERA) starting the opener. Toronto RHP José Berríos (1-1, 5.02) starts Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at the Yankees.
___________________________
Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!