Freshman guard Armoni Brooks made his first career start in a win against Tulane yesterday. | Courtesy of UH Athletics
The Cougars returned to winning in a 65-51 victory over Tulane last night in Hofheinz Pavilion. The Cougars improve to 14-7 overall and 5-4 in the American Athletic Conference.
Both teams got off to an ugly start as no one on the court seemed capable of making a basket. The score was tied at 2-2 until 14:08, and neither team entered double digits until 8:57. The Cougars made only two of their first 11 shots, while the Green Wave made two of their first 14 shots.
The Cougars found their rhythm later in the first half and went on a 17-1 run. Redshirt senior guard Damyean Dotson and junior guard Wes VanBeck took over, with nine points and six points respectively.
The Green Wave trailed by 15 points at halftime with the score at 31-16.
In the second half, the Green Wave found more success, scoring 35 points to the Cougars’ 34.
For the first time since the game against Tulsa on Jan. 4, the Cougars out-rebounded their opponent. The Green Wave had 37 rebounds, and the Cougars put up 44 rebounds. Dotson led the team with nine rebounds with redshirt senior forward Danrad “Chicken” Knowles adding six, four being offensive rebounds.
Redshirt junior guard Rob Gray had one of his quietest nights this season. In the first half, he attempted three shots and only made one. He ended the game with 12 points, four assists and four rebounds. He also turned the ball over five times, three more than any other Cougar.
Dotson led the team in points with 20. He went 8-18 from the field and 2-9 from deep.
Freshman guard Armoni Brooks made his first career start and put up 11 points for the Cougars. He shot 4-9 from the field and 2-6 from beyond the arc.
For their next standoff, the Cougars stay at home to host the Temple Owls. The Owls are 10-10 overall and 1-6 in the conference. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. Saturday.
