Coogs start slow; finish with 80-59 win over NJIT

POSTED: December 29, 2018 -- 9:18 p.m. CST

The Houston Cougars completed the non-conference part of its schedule with an 80-59 win over the NJIT Highlanders Saturday afternoon. With the victory, Houston finishes 13-0 in non-conference play for the first time in school history (in seasons in which Houston competed as a conference member).

Corey Davis Jr. led a balanced offense with 19 points. DeJon Jarreau (13) and Brison Gresham (11) combined for 24 points off the bench. Armoni Brooks scored 10.

The Highlanders (11-3) raced to an 11-2 lead in the first 3 plus minutes of the game. NJIT made 4 of its first 6 field goals including 3 for 4 three-point attempts.

At the first media timeout (15:28) of the game, the Coogs had made just 1 field goal out of 7 attempts and turned the ball over three times.

NJIT stretched the margin to 10 (18-8) with 11:26 on the clock at the second media timeout.

Houston went on an 11-0 run as they began making shots while the Coogs' defense held NJIT scoreless for nearly 7 minutes. Jarreau's runner off the glass put the Coogs on top 19-18 with 6:53 remaining in the opening half.

The two teams exchanged baskets for two minutes; however, when Brison Gresham dunked for a 23-22 lead, Houston never trailed the rest of the ball game.

Houston took a 27-23 lead into halftime. After the hot shooting to begin the game, the Highlanders made 5 of their last 26 field goal attempts in the first half.

"There's a huge difference in this game from playing hard, versus competing," Kelvin Sampson, Houston Head Coach said after the game. "When our team is competing, we're pretty good in different areas. I think at the start of the game we didn't have the right attitude, and the score reflected that. The last 10 minutes of the first half, they score five points and I thought our attitude reflected that too."

The Coogs began the second half with a 10-1 run to lead 37-24 with 15:43 on the game clock. Brooks and Davis Jr each made a three-point shot during the run. Those two 3-point baskets eclipsed the Coogs' 1 for 10 three-point shooting in the first half.

Brooks made another three; and Jarreau scored 5 during a 14-5 spurt which blew the game open and put the Coogs ahead by 22 points (51-29) with 11:14 remaining in the game.

Houston shot 70% (12 for 17) during the run to put the game away. The Coogs finished the second half shooting 62.9% from the floor (22 for 35) while limiting the Highlanders to 35.5% (11 for 31).

"I think we really took a step forward offensively in the second half," Sampson said. "The guys loosened up and made shots. What was wrong with our offense in the first 10 minutes of the game? Nothing. Don't get offense and making shots confused. The offense can do great, but if the ball doesn't go in, then the offense looks bad. We had open shots, we just didn't make them. The difference in the first five minutes of the second half and the first five minutes offensively of the game, was all those open looks. Corey and Armoni were 1 of 10 the first half and the second half they we were making those balls. That's why I tell them to keep shooting. We're going to have a night here where we got two or three guys here knocking down shots on the same night. I thought our defense was good, our effort was good, obviously we rebounded well, and it's nice to be 13-0. We'll just move on."

The Coogs won the battle of the boards 48-33; outscored the Highlanders 46-14 in the paint, 16-9 in fast break points, and 35-12 in bench points.

Houston begins American Athletic Conference play Wednesday, January 2, against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Tulsa is 10-3 and has won 5 games in a row including wins over Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and Dayton.

"We play Tulsa and I haven't looked at them, yet;" Sampson said. "But, the season can be divided up into three parts. The first is non-conference, the second is conference, and the third is post-season play. Being 13-0 is tremendous; but, last time I checked, they don't give out any medals for being undefeated in non-conference play."

Sampson praised the coaching in the AAC.

"The thing that impresses me about this conference is how well-coached every team is. The team that doesn't get the credit they deserve - and I don't know why - is Tulsa. (Tulsa Head Coach) Frank Haith finished 4th last year. They've already beaten Kansas State who was ranked 16th in the nation when Tulsa beat them. They beat Oklahoma State, another Big 12 team. They went on the road and beat Dayton. Tulsa can win this league. There's four or five teams that can win this league. It's an 18-game grind. You're going to take some hits along the way, lose a game here, lose a game there, and you put it behind you and move on to the next one."

NEXT:

Houston's match-up against Tulsa will be the Coogs' sixth straight home game out a 7-game homestand. Tip is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday evening. The game can be seen on ESPN3.

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