UH guard Quentin Grimes holds the ball at the top of the key as he awaits for the Cougars’ offense to develop against Memphis during the 2019-20 regular-season finale. | Mikol Kindle Jr./The Cougar
UH got its second win of the season after defeating Boise State 68-58 on Friday inside of Fertitta Center.
Both teams got off to rocky starts with early turnovers and misses until the Cougars got on the board first with a Justin Gorham layup that came off his own offensive rebound.
Sophomore guard Caleb Mills also made his season debut about five minutes into the first half and broke a 5-5 tie with a jumper that put the Cougars up two.
Freshman guard Tramon Mark then notched the second three-pointer for the Cougars at the 12-minute mark to put the Cougars up 14-9.
The rest of the first half was all junior guard Quentin Grimes.
It started with a made layup at the nine-minute mark that put the Cougars up 16-9.
After missing a three, Grimes came right back and made a three off a Boise State turnover to put the Cougars up 19-9.
Grimes then went on a personal 10-point run made up a 3-pointer, mid-range jumpers and layups.
Grimes finished the first half with 17 points, nearly outscoring the entire Boise State offense by himself, and finished with a game-high 24.
After a Boise State made a free throw, the Cougars went into halftime up 34-19.
The Cougars carried their momentum over into the second half with other Cougars making their presence felt.
Sophomore guard Marcus Sasser started the scoring with a 3-pointer that put Houston up 37-21.
Mills had an early exit in the first half after getting into foul trouble but came back strong later in the second half.
Mills knocked down back-to-back mid-range jumpers that put UH up 43-25.
Sasser carried on his efficient 3-point shooting with another three-point jumper to put the Cougars up 48-29 at the eleven-minute mark.
After a DeJon Jarreau layup and a freshman guard Tramon Mark jumper, the lead for the Cougars swelled to 54-35 with eight minutes remaining in the game.
Boise State then began to close the gap.
Mladen Armus and Marcus Shaver Jr. jumpstarted the offense with a made layup by Armus immediately following Mark’s jumper.
Shaver knocked down several free throws and Armus continued finding success getting to the rim, and the lead was shaved down to 57-50 as the Cougars struggled to not turn the ball over.
With three minutes remaining, the Cougars turned to Mills to close the game. The guard knocked down a jumper that stopped the bleeding to put the Cougars up 59-50.
After a few free throws made and a layup by the Cougars, the defense held sturdy the rest of the way, securing the game.
While the Cougars led for most of the game, turnovers were a big reason it became as close as it was. The Cougars had 17 turnovers compared to Boise State’s 13.
The Cougars are now 2-0 and play again Sunday against Texas Tech in Fort Worth.
