Sophomore guard DeJon Jarreau followed up his near triple-double against UConn on Thursday with a 12-point outing to lead the Cougars over the South Florida Bulls on Sunday afternoon at Fertitta Center. | Kathryn Lenihan/The Cougar
Offensive rebounds and second-chance points were the story of the game as the Cougars cruised to a 68-49 victory over the South Florida Bulls, capping off a 4-0 record in American Athletic Conference play over the last two weeks.
The Cougars jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead over the first three minutes of the first half, led by sophomore guard Nate Hinton’s quick four points.
South Florida responded to Houston’s hot start with their own offensive run to erase their early deficit. Halfway through the first half the two teams were knotted at 14 a piece.
The Cougars then went on a 11-3 run to take a 24-17 lead with 3:30 remaining in the half.
The teams traded buckets to close out the final minutes of the half. At the half, the Cougars led 31-23.
Houston quickly built on its lead over the first five minutes of the second half, led by junior forward Fabian White Jr.’s two early baskets to begin the second half.
UH extended its lead over USF to 17 points when freshman guard Marcus Sasser hit a 3-pointer with just under nine minutes remaining in the game.
With the help of junior guard DeJon Jerreau and redshirt freshman guard Caleb Mills, who made back-to-back layups, the Cougars went up 20 with less than five minutes left in the game.
The Cougars would not allow the Bulls to chip away at their lead over the final five minutes of regulation and secured a 68-49 victory.
Jarreau led the Cougars in scoring with 12 points followed by Mills and White who both had 11.
Houston totaled 14 offensive rebounds and 17 second-chance points on the afternoon.
With the victory, Houston improves to 16-4 on the season and 6-1 in conference play.
