Even though Zamal Nixon had a rough night from the field, he was still the Cougars leading scorer with 14 points. Nixon went 1-6 from the field but was perfect from the free-throw line, making all 12 attempts. | Aaron Cisneros/The Daily Cougar
The Cougars know that the way they finish games is more important than how they begin them.
They proved the adage true as UH overcame a slow start to defeat the Tulsa 64-57 Wednesday at Hofheinz Pavilion.
The Cougars improved to 10-1 in home games, and played in front of the largest audience of the season with an announced attendance of 3,617.
The Cougars fought back from a 12-point deficit in the first half with a stingy defensive effort. It was a back-and-forth affair with nine lead changes and four turnovers.
UH (11-6, 3-1 Conference USA) took the lead for good when Alandise Harris made the second of two free throws with 3:53 remaining to put the Cougars up 56-55.
On the ensuing possession, Kendrick Washington stole the ball from Justin Hurtt and was rewarded with a layup to stretch the lead to 58-55 with 3:02 remaining.
The Hurricane cut the gap to one point with 1:42 left, but an Adam Brown layup with 27 seconds left gave the Cougars some breathing room.
Harris took a charge from Hurtt with 25 seconds remaining, forcing the Golden Hurricane to intentionally foul.
Zamal Nixon hit four free throws in the final seconds to ice the win.
“We were flat as a unit at the beginning of the game,” Brown said. “But when you get hit, it’s not a matter of whether you got beat up, it’s whether you fought back. So we started to chip away slowly.”
Tulsa (9-9, 2-2 C-USA) opened the scoring with two quick 3-pointers by sophomore guard Bryson Pope and Hurtt.
Steven Idlet capped Tulsa’s opening surge with a second chance putback, making it 8-0 only 2:15 into the game.
With the score 20-9, Maurice McNeil blocked two shots on one possession, providing a spark plug.
The Cougars went on a 10-2 run over the next 4:28, pulling them within three points with 6:51 to play in the first half.
The Cougars took their first lead on a 3-pointer from guard Darian Thibodeaux less than a minute later.
“They got us early,” head coach James Dickey said. “I thought we were ready to play. I was pleased with the way our guys battled back.”
For the remainder of the half, UH dictated the tempo and played solid defense, holding Tulsa to only three field goals in the final 12 minutes.
UH went on an 11-0 run in the second half, which was capped off by an alley-oop from Nixon to Harris. That gave the UH its biggest margin at 42-34.
Tulsa fought back to take a lead 43-42 lead with 12:17 to go. From then until the final minute, neither team led by more than three points.
While pleased with the victory, the Cougars know they cannot be complacent, and that every C-USA matchup will test their character.
“We got a good win tonight,” Nixon said. “But every night in conference play is going to be tough.
“We’re going to have a tough game against UTEP on Saturday.”
Nixon sets pace
Nixon led the Cougars in scoring with 14 points, including a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line.
Thibodeaux and Brown chipped in with 11 points apiece. Alandise Harris scored 10 and recorded six rebounds.
After missing four contests with a staph infection in his elbow, Washington returned to the lineup. The forward only logged 13 minutes, but his presence was felt as Dickey called upon him to be a defensive presence in the game’s closing minutes.
The win puts UH in a four-way tie for first in the conference with Memphis and UTEP.
UH looks to stretch its streak to four, taking on the Miners at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Hofheinz Pavilion. The game can be heard on 790 AM KBME.
