Coogs defeat Angelo State 97-80 in exhibition game

Posted: November 5, 2017 -- 10:25 pm CDT.

HOUSTON, TX (H&PE Arena) -- Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson has said the strength of this team is in its depth. The Houston Cougars' quality depth was on full display Sunday afternoon in a 97-80 exhibition game win over the Angelo State Rams. Fourteen Coogs played in the game; and, 12 of them scored.

Final box score: Coogs 97, Angelo State 80. Exhibition game.

Balanced scoring contributed to the victory. Five Coogs scored in double-figures -- led by 13 points each from sophomore Chris Harris, Jr. and senior Nura Zanna. Sophomore Armoni Brooks added 12 points (4 for 5 from three) while seniors Wes VanBeck and Devin Davis each scored 10 points.

Houston began the game with a 9-2 burst then increased the lead to 24-9 with 10:40 remaining in the first half. At the point of the game, nine different players had scored for the Coogs. The lead grew to 30-11 at the 8:16 mark of the first half. After back-to-back three-point buckets by Armoni Brooks, Houston led 47-23 with 3:12  remaining until halftime.

Houston led by as much as 26 points in the opening half and took a 53-27 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.

In the first half, Houston made a conscious effort to get the ball into the post and score paint points. The emphasis on post-touches resulted in 28 first half points.

“You saw that tonight and it wasn't an accident,” Coach Sampson said after the game. “We're throwing it down there obviously, but Breaon (Brady), Nura (Zanna), Devin (Davis) and Fabian (White Jr.), all those guys are still works in progress. Chris (Harris Jr.) is 6’10’’ and you can see where his size was a factor on the boards tonight. I'm excited about developing Chris, he's going to be a good player.”

The Coogs shot 60 percent (21 for 35) in the opening half while the Rams struggled to make shots. The Coogs limited the Rams to eight baskets on 29 attempts (27.6%).

The second half was much better for the Rams on offense; and, slightly worse for the Coogs. The Rams shot 58.6% (17 for 29) in the second half while the Coogs shot 45.5% (15 for 33) from the floor.

Houston finished the game with 17 turnovers (9 in the second half). The Coogs dominated the boards with a 50-26 edge. (All fourteen Coogs grabbed at least one rebound.)

“This team has a chance to be our best team, but we're still a work-in-progress,” Sampson added. “We have to get our rotation down. The problem with so many different substitution patterns is that you have guys playing together that haven't played together really all fall. That's where you are going to have defensive breakdowns.

“Exhibition games are what they are. They give us a chance to coach the way you’re not going to coach in a regular game. I don't think I'm going to be playing 12 guys a lot of minutes, and we played 10 guys at least 12 minutes. I've never done that in my life, ever. I saw a lot of good things. We missed 32 shots tonight, got 19 offensive rebounds. That's a good thing. We had 22 assists, that's a good thing. This early in the year there are certain things you want to see that you've been working on. You’re not going to cut down your turnovers this early in the year, that's a process. I saw some things that got me excited, then I saw some things made me realize that, ‘you know it's November 5th we’ve got a long way to go’”.

Houston begins the 2017-'18 regular season hosting McNeese this Friday, November 10, at 7 p.m., inside Texas Southern's H&PE Arena.

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