Sports
 

First-half nightmare leads to Cougar loss

Cougar Sports Services

The Cougars know how to perform at their home theater, but the UH cast won't get any applause for its traveling show.

The UH men's basketball team is still in search of its first road win of the season after falling to Memphis 64-48 Saturday at the Pyramid in Memphis. 

The loss drops the Cougars to 7-9 overall, 1-4 in Conference USA and 0-4 on the road. 

Other than free-throw attempts, no major statistical gaps separated the two teams. Each team shot 36 percent from the field, and the Cougars committed only one more turnover than the Tigers. 

Houston managed just 10 points in the first half on 5-26 shooting, including 0-4 from the three-point line, and did not attempt a single free throw in the half. 

In the second half, the Cougars picked up the offense, shooting 52 percent from the field and 6-6 from the free-throw line. Memphis went to the line 21 times, converting on 14.

Senior guard Marcus Oliver scored 15 points, and freshman guard Lanny Smith added 11 points. Freshman forward Sean Banks led the Tigers with 18 points and Rodney Carney came off the bench to add 14 points and nine rebounds. 

The Cougars played a solid zone defense that forced the Tigers to beat them from the outside. Memphis shot less than 30 percent from behind the arc, but bailed out with13 offensive rebounds, leading to easy second-chance scoring opportunities inside. Memphis out-rebounded Houston 44-31. 

After trailing 31-10 at the half, the Cougars went on a run to start the second half that cut the Memphis lead to 15. They never came any closer. Memphis quelled any trace of momentum the Cougars created by making stops when it counted.

The Cougars quest for a first road victory won't get any easier, as they now must travel to Louisville to take on the red-hot Cardinals. Louisville comes into the game 15-1 and ranked No. 5 in the country by The Associated Press. 

UH will return home to face Southern Miss at 7:30 p.m Feb. 3 at Hofheinz Pavilion. 

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