Houston Cougars lose to SMU 85-83 in Dallas

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UPDATED: February 9, 2022 -- 11:24 p.m. CT

POSTED: February 9, 2022 -- 10:31 p.m. CT

Dallas, TX -- (Moody Coliseum)

The Houston Cougars men's basketball team lost 85-83 on the road to the SMU Mustangs Wednesday night. The loss snapped Houston's 12-game winning streak. The loss is Houston's first conference loss this season. Houston's record is 20-3 overall and 9-1 in the American Athletic Conference. With the win, SMU improved to 17-5 and 8-2.

Despite the loss, the sky is not falling. Houston's season is not over.

"The sky is never falling for us because I'm not a fan; and, I'm not the media," Kelvin Sampson, Houston's Head Coach said during his postgame press conference.

"I'm so proud of this team," Coach Sampson commented. "I really am."

"We've played six (AAC) road games. We're 5-1. I'm pretty happy about that," Coach Sampson continued. "I'm not gonna sit around and hang my head and pout and complain or point my finger; bitch because we lost our first road game out of six opportunities. I think that's pretty doggone good -- especially for this group given the circumstances that we've had to battle this year."

With Houston's depleted backcourt, Coach Sampson has mentioned foul trouble was one of his biggest concerns for his team.

Houston senior guard Kyler Edwards picked up his fourth foul with 12:05 remaining in the second half and sat on the bench for nearly three minutes. SMU outscored Houston 9-0 with Edwards on the bench.

With Edwards on the bench, teammate Taze Moore did not get the opportunity to get a rest.

"Kyler can't pick up his fourth foul so early in the second half," Coach Sampson said. "The problem is we can't take Taze out. We don't have another guard. If I did, I would put him in.

Shot attempts that fell in the first half for Houston did not fall as frequently in the second half. Houston shot a blistering 70% (21 for 30) in the first and made 7 of 11 three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes.

The Coogs made 1 of 8 three-point shot attempts in the second half and shot 37.9 fg% (11 for 29) in the second 20 minutes.

Houston led 51-40 at halftime and scored 1.500 points per possession in the first half and 0.865 points per possession in the second half.

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Houston led 75-69 with 4:54 remaining in the game; however, Houston went scoreless for nearly 3 minutes while the Mustangs scored 7 in a row to lead 76-75 with 3:33 on the game clock.

Josh Carlton scored a layup in transition to end Houston's scoring drought and put Houston ahead 77-76 with 2:56 on the clock. SMU's Michael Weathers scored a layup to put the Mustangs back on top. Next, Carlton was whistled for an offensive foul -- his fifth foul of the game -- on a drive to the basket.

SMU's Zach Nutall capitalized with a three-point basket for an 81-77 SMU lead with 2:18 remaining in the contest. Fabian White scored a second-chance layup; and, one minute later, Jamal Shead made a jumper to tie the game at 81.

After an SMU timeout, SMU point guard Kendric Davis caught the inbounds pass in the backcourt and raced the ball into the frontcourt. Shead fouled Davis. Davis went to the line and made both free throws. SMU led 83-81 with 40 seconds left in the game.

Houston called timeout to set up a play. After the timeout, Taze Moore missed a jumper in the pain. Houston was forced to foul.

Michael Weathers split the 2 foul shots. Houston trailed 84-81 with 24.1 seconds on the clock. SMU called timeout. After the timeout, Kyler Edwards' three-point attempt bounced off the rim. Houston's Reggie Chaney fouled Zach Nutall. Nutall missed both free throws to give Houston another chance to tie the game.

Kendric Davis fouled Edwards before Edwards could attempt a three-point shot. Edwards made the first free throw; and, intentionally missed the second attempt and tossed the shot off the backboard instead of bouncing it off the rim which is a violation. Houston trailed 84-82 with 6 seconds on the clock.

After the violation, Taze Moore fouled Kendric Davis. Davis made the first foul shot but missed the second attempt. Reggie Chaney rebounded the miss and passed to Kyler Edwards. Edwards was fouled while attempting a three-point shot. With a chance to tie the game at 85, Edwards missed the first free throw, made the second, and intentionally missed the third attempt. This time, Edwards shot the ball off the rim; however, he crossed the free throw line before the attempt hit the rim which is a lane violation.

SMU won the game 85-83 and fans stormed the court to celebrate the win over the 6th-ranked Cougars.

"We're going to be every team in this league's biggest game," Coach Sampson acknowledged. "We've got a bullseye on our back. That's not going to go away. But, you know what, I'd rather have a bullseye on my back than not."

Carlton, Edwards, and Moore each scored 17 points to lead Houston. Jamal Shead scored 14 points and dished out a career-high 12 assists to go along with 4 rebounds, 4 fouls, and 4 turnovers. Fabian White scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

Kendric Davis scored a game-high 22 points to lead SMU. He also had 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 turnovers. Marcus Weathers scored 20 points while his brother, Michael, scored 17 points.

"We got a big game on Saturday," Coach Sampson remarked. "There's nothing else. There's no other message. There's nothing else to say. This one's over.

"We got an opportunity to be 10-1 in the league and 21-3. That's pretty good."

Houston has won 23 straight games after a loss. Houston has not lost consecutive regular-season games since losing three straight games in January 2017.

Houston's next game is Saturday, February 12, at home versus the Memphis Tigers. Tip is set for 2:30 p.m. Central Time on ABC.

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