Coogs lose to Harvard by one

Posted: December 23, 2016 -- 10:34 pm CDT.

HOUSTON, TX (Hofheinz Pavilion) -- The Houston Cougars struggled to make shots most of the game Friday night; but, for much of the game great defense propelled them. Unfortunately, the defense suffered a few cracks down the stretch; and, the Harvard Crimson outscored the Coogs 12-2 in the final six minutes of the game to defeat the Coogs 57-56 in front of an announced crowd of 4,004 fans.

"For the first 20 minutes we were great," said Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson after the game. "That’s the best man-to-man defense we’ve played all year."

The Cougars (9-3) shot 33.3% (20 for 60) from the floor in the ball game; and, Houston's top two scorers Rob Gray (6 for 21) and Damyean Dotson (3 for 15) had a difficult time putting the ball in the basket.

"We were 20 for 60 tonight," Sampson added. "We are better offensively, we are shooting over 50 percent against everybody we are playing this year. It happens sometimes in basketball. Gray and (Damyean) Dotson they were 9-36. I ride for those two guys; we go 9- 36 and lose by one."

Harvard trailed 54-45 with six minutes remaining; but, Harvard freshman guard Bryce Aiken splashed two three-point shots after teammate Justin Bassey's wide open lay-up to slice Houston's lead to 54-53 with 4:27 remaining in the ball game.

Neither team scored for nearly two minutes before Gray sank a jump shot with 2:36 on the clock to put the Coogs ahead 56-53.

Houston did not score the rest of the game. The Coogs missed three shots and turned over the ball once to close out the game.

Harvard big man Zena Edosomwan blocked a short jump shot by Damyean Dotson with 1:22 on the clock; then, 10 seconds later, Edosomwan scored a lay-up to give Harvard the lead.

Houston called timeout with 61 seconds remaining; but, after the timeout, the Coogs committed a costly turnover.

On Harvard's possession, Gray played solid defense on Aiken and forced a jump ball. Houston had the arrow on the alternate possession and gained possession with 17 seconds remaining.

After the timeout, Gray caught the inbound pass; waited a few seconds; then, made his move to the hoop. Gray pulled up; stumbled for a moment which threw off his rhythm before he took his jump shot. His shot bounced off the rim. Teammate Wes VanBeck got his hands on the ball; but, VanBeck was unable to convert the put back.

Gray scored a team-high 15 points for the Coogs while Aiken scored a game-high 21 points for the Crimson. No other players scored in double digits.

Houston begins American Athletic Conference play on the road, Wednesday, December 28, at Connecticut. Tip is set for 2 p.m.

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