It was raining three-pointers Wednesday night as Houston made 16 of 24 attempts from beyond the arc. | Ahmed Gul/The Daily Cougar
Houston defeated East Carolina Wednesday night 94-50 in front of a small home crowd with a pair of big names.
Hall of Famer and UH great Hakeem Olajuwon watched the game from the sideline, as did Olympian and UH track & field coach Carl Lewis. The game was never close, and the UH fans that braved the frigid temperatures were greeted with a great performance.
Houston aimed to impress its special guests with a historic night for senior guard Galen Robinson Jr. as he approached the number four spot of all-time assists for UH.
The first half started off slowly for both teams with three consecutive turnovers from shot clock violations, and the first points on the board came from free throws.
Houston’s early points were found from the foul line and the occasional three until the team heated up.
Once the players got warmed up, it seemed Houston couldn’t cool down. Both guards, Robinson Jr. and junior Armoni Brooks, showed up in the middle of the first half with Brooks hitting essential threes.
As for Robinson Jr., the night was marked on his calendar, as he was just four assists away from hitting 500 assists and seven away from taking fourth overall leader in assists for Houston.
Instead of stopping at seven to reach 503 assists, he put up eight to cement the game in his history book and end the night with 504 career assists.
Even though there was a big lead, the team never slacked on the defensive end, which is important in blowout games so the team creates good habits for the tough upcoming schedule.
Some scoring highlights during the game have to include Brooks, who effortlessly put up 71 percent from three and 60 percent from the field to score 17 points total without a free throw.
On the polar opposite side of Brooks was redshirt senior guard Landon Goesling, who scored eight of 10 from the free-throw line late in the second half when ECU was trying to make a run.
The game officially finished in blowout fashion, and Olajuwon and Lewis could be seen with smiles on their faces.
Houston’s next game is at Tulsa at 1 p.m. Sunday and can be watched on ESPNEWS.
