Coogs earn hard fought win over Tulsa, 64-61

Posted: January 4, 2017 -- 11:43 pm CDT.

HOUSTON, TX (Hofheinz Pavilion) -- The Houston Cougars earned a tough, hard-fought 64-61 win over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane Wednesday night.

After the game, Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson said, "I'm proud of the win."

"I'm more proud of this win than any win we've had this year," Sampson added. "I think it's the best win we've had this year. I really do."

Without Rob Gray (flu) and Devin Davis (foot), Damyean Dotson led four Cougars players in double-digit scoring with 18 points. Wes VanBeck started in place of Gray and scored 16 points in 37 minutes of action. VanBeck was a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line.

Galen Robinson, Jr. scored 10 points, handed out 5 assists, and pulled down 4 rebounds. Robinson, Jr. also made a huge play in the final seconds when he blocked a potential game-tying 3-point shot attempt in front of the Tulsa bench.

Danrad Knowles bounced back from a subpar first half with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots in the second half.

The Coogs and the Golden Hurricane struggled making shots for the majority of the ball game.

The Coogs made 20 of 55 field goal attempts (36.4%) while Tulsa made 17 of 46 attempts (37.0%).

Houston trailed 32-28 at halftime and 34-28 early in the second half.

The game was close throughout the 40 minutes. Neither team led by more than six points. The game featured 14 ties and 8 lead changes.

With the win, the Coogs improve to 12-3 overall and 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference.

Tulsa is now 7-7 and 1-1 in the AAC.

Houston hosts Top 25 Cincinnati this Saturday, January 7, at 8 p.m.

CLICK HERE for The HRR's write-ups of Coogs' men's hoops games.