Sophomore guard Nate Hinton got his eighth double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Cougars against the Green Wave on Thursday night. | Mikol Kindle Jr./The Cougar
No. 25 Houston cruised through the Tulane Green Wave on Thursday at home, taking the game 75-62.
Early 3-pointers from sophomore guard Nate Hinton and freshman guard Caleb Mills, along with a jumper from junior forward Fabian White Jr. put the Cougars on the board, taking a short lead of 8-6.
But once Houston grasped this two-point lead, they would not look back.
The Cougars continued its scrappy defensive play and ramped up the offense as they began to leave the Green Wave behind.
Keeping this momentum, Houston went on an 8-0 run with help from five-straight points from sophomore guard Quinten Grimes to force a Tulane timeout at 19-7.
Freshman guard Marcus Sasser added back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch the Cougars lead to 35-17 with 2:11 left in the half.
Houston headed into the second half leading by 18 with a score of 39-21.
But in the final half, the Green Wave began fighting back.
Adding 3-pointers along with four Houston turnovers, Tulane began chipping away at the Cougars lead, bringing the score within 10.
However, it would not be enough for Houston as Mills turned up the heat on offense to help create a 7-0 run.
Once again, the game began to slip away from the Green Wave, unable to come within reach of the Cougars lead, which reached 19 in the second half.
The Cougars walked away with a 75-62 lead against Tulane.
Mills shined with 18 points and with Grimes at 15 points, while Hinton tallied a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
