Coogs blast ECU Pirates 94-50 to improve to 19-1 overall and 6-1 in AAC

POSTED: January 23, 2019 -- 11:00 p.m. CST

HOUSTON, TX (Fertitta Center) -- The Houston Cougars were clicking on all cylinders Wednesday night in a 94-50 shellacking of the ECU Pirates. Tonight's win extends Houston's winning streak at home to 30 consecutive games.

Houston (19-1 overall, 6-1 in the American Athletic Conference) shot 51.8% (29 for 56) from the floor and limited the Pirates to 32.3% (20 for 62) field goal shooting. The Coogs made 16 of 24 three-point field goal attempts (66.7%) while the Pirates shot 2 for 22 (9.1%) from three.

"We played well and we shot the ball well," said Kelvin Sampson, Houston Head Coach. "But, I was more excited tonight about how we were able to maintain our intensity level for such a long period of time. You can play really good and not make shots. Just because you shoot the ball well doesn't always mean you're playing well. We shot the ball well tonight; but, look at who was shooting them: Armoni Brooks and Corey Davis Jr. are great shooters. Corey, Armoni and Galen Robinson Jr.'s defense and attention to detail tonight was outstanding."

Brooks said the key to maintaining the intensity is good leadership.

"Good leadership," said Brooks. "Corey and Galen pride themselves on being really good defenders; so, when we see them play really hard, it encourages the rest of us to get better. When we see them working so hard, we want to make sure we hold our own."

Freshman Nate Hinton said defense is emphasized everyday.

"It's emphasized every day," Hinton said matter-of-fact. "Coach (Sampson) says to do something and it's on us to go out there and execute the defensive plan that has put in place for us. We work hard every day, try to get better, and keep the foot on the gas."

Brooks and Davis, Jr combined to make 9 of 14 three-pointers. Redshirt freshman Cedrick Alley, Jr. made 4 of his 5 three-point attempts. Six different Coogs made at least one 3 in tonight's game.

"It's a testament to how hard we work every day," added Brooks. "Before and after practice we're getting shots up with the coaches, to see it all paying off is a great feeling. We're all extremely confident in one another and give each other the confidence to shoot the ball if you're open. If you miss, we'll tell you to shoot the next one. It's a testament of our togetherness."

Houston made only 2 of its first 9 shots; then, the Coogs got hot. Houston made 15 of its next 22 shots in the first half; and, the Coogs shot a ridiculously-hot 11 for 15 (73.3%) from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes.

The hot shooting and tight defense helped Houston extend a 21-15 lead to 49-26 at halftime. The Coogs' solid defense continued in the second half as the Pirates were scoreless the first 5 minutes 31 seconds which allowed the Coogs to pile on more points and lead 67-28 with 14:10 remaining in the ball game.

Houston led by as much as 46 points in the ball game.

Five different Coogs scored in double digits Wednesday night. Armoni Brooks scored a game-high 17 points followed by Nate Hinton's 13 points. Cedrick Alley, Jr. and Corey Davis, Jr. each scored 12 points; and, Fabian White, Jr. added 11 points.

NOTE(S):

With his first assist of the game, senior point guard Galen Robinson, Jr. recorded the 500th assist of his career, becoming the sixth player in school history to reach that milestone. Robinson finished with a game-high eight assists in the game and now has 504 assists. He moved past Lanny Smith (2003-08) and Alvin Franklin (1982-86) into fourth place in Houston career history with that total.

Redshirt junior big man Chris Harris, Jr. was the first big man off the bench in tonight's game. Coach Sampson said he rewarded Harris Jr. for his solid work in practice. Harris Jr. pulled down 6 boards and blocked 1 shot in 10 minutes of action.

"I like the way he prepares," Sampson said. He's such a smart and mature kid. I love coaching him. He's a wonderful young man. We got in deep foul trouble in Tampa (January 19 against USF). When we called his number, he responded in such a great manner (5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks in 7 minutes) that I decided to reward him tonight. He came out and was great in practice on Monday and Tuesday. I didn't tell him he was going to be moved into the rotation until right before the game. If you don't reward kids for working hard, then what's their motivation to work hard? They need to be rewarded. For the kids who get passed on, they need to figure it out. You need to start working harder, too."

NEXT:

Houston heads to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to face the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, Sunday, January 26, at 1 p.m., on ESPNews.

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