UH men’s basketball redshirt sophomore guard Cameron Tyson holds his follow through in a game against Our Lady of the Lake on Saturday at Fertitta Center. | Andy Yanez/The Cougar
No. 5 Houston bounced back from its loss to East Carolina, storming past Our Lady of the Lake on Saturday at Fertitta Center in a 112-46 decision.
UH (16-2, 10-2 American Athletic Conference) utilized its depth, starting a younger lineup than usual with the five starters resting.
To get things started, freshman guard Tramon Mark put up a couple of 3-pointers and a jumper to give the Cougars an early lead as the first half began. Mark tallied 10 points in under five minutes. He finished with 22 points, six rebounds and six assists.
UH made it a 10-point game as the shots kept raining down, this time, a three from sophomore Cameron Tyson, who had 32 points to finish. He would go on to make nine more throughout the game.
When the Saints continued to lose the ball, the Cougars took advantage, going on a 25-0 run, thanks to even more sharpshooting.
Freshman guards Ryan Elvin and Jamal Shead stepped in to make a difference, with a pair of three’s and an assist from Elvin, and five layups and four assists from Shead to aid in UH’s dominant first-half lead.
Shead ended with a near triple-double and clinched a career-high 20 points, along with 10 assists and nine rebounds.
By this point, three Cougars were in the double-digits for points.
Shooting 53 percent and out-rebounding OLLU 26-12 in the first half, UH rolled into the second half up 60-22.
Earlier in the second half, the Cougars slowed it down, going over two minutes without a bucket along with four quick fouls on UH.
The Cougars shook the scoring drought off after Mark connected with freshman forward J’wan Roberts for an alley-oop to stay in front by 37.
Roberts went for a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.
From there, UH continued to pile on the pressure on defense, capitalizing on the Saint turnovers for fast-break dunks, layups, and Tyson’s seventh 3-pointer to lead 75-31.
A 10-0 run highlighted by two back-to-back three’s from Tyson and more fast-break dunks put the Cougars ahead 94-35 with under 10 minutes to play.
UH made it into the triple figures for the first time this season after a second-chance layup from freshman center Kiyron Powell, who recorded the third double-double of the day, with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The Cougars continued to put on a show up until the end, dominating the Saints with an overwhelming 66-point win.
