No. 17 UH hangs on to defeat No. 14 Texas Tech in slugfest
UH guard DeJon Jarreau controls the ball and looks for an open teammate against Wichita State during the 2019-20 season. | Mikol Kindle Jr./The Cougar
What appeared was going to be an easy win for No. 17 Houston over No. 14 Texas Tech quickly turned into a grinded-out slugfest on Sunday afternoon, with UH pulling out a 64-53 win.
After the Cougars (3-0) were in control for the entire first half and almost half of the second, the Red Raiders (2-1) made a furious rally after falling behind by 20 points.
While the UH enjoyed its comfortable lead, senior guard DeJon Jarreau, who had eight points and nine rebounds in the win, and Texas Tech senior forward Marcus Santos-Silva had a small moment where both players jawed at each other, which was quickly separated but was the beginning of the game’s physicality going forward.
A few plays later, senior forward Justin Gorham and Raiders freshman guard Micah Peavy had a brief exchange where the two were tangled up briefly, which led officials to review the play, but they did not call anything.
Soon the Red Raiders rallied, and the crowd at Dickies Arena roared with every basket made. An emphatic dunk by Peavy cut UH’s lead to nine, but the Cougars were able to do just enough to keep Texas Tech at bay.
UH had an interesting finish to the game, going the final 12:27 of the second half without scoring a field goal. The team hit 12 free-throws in that stretch to get them to the finish line.
The first half was a much different story for the Cougars, who got on the board first off of a 3-pointer from junior guard Quentin Grimes, and it was full-speed ahead the rest of the way.
After 3’s from senior forward Justin Gorham, who finished with nine points and seven rebounds, and sophomore guard Marcus Sasser, the Cougars saw their lead expand to double-digits, and never allowed the Red Raiders to get close.
What really defined UH’s performance was how well it executed on the defensive side of the ball and on the glass.
At halftime, the Red Raiders had been held to only seven of 21 shooting from the field (33.3 percent) and had committed 12 turnovers.
Sophomore guard Marcus Sasser led UH in scoring with 17 points.
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