Junior forward Reggie Chaney goes up strong in the paint in UH basketball’s victory over SMU Sunday afternoon | Andy Yanez/The Cougar
A strong second half performance both offensively and defensively powered No. 6 UH to a 70-48 victory over SMU Sunday afternoon at Fertitta Center.
SMU made the first basket of the game to go up 2-0, marking the first time UH has trailed since Jan. 9.
The majority of the first half was a defensive battle as neither team shot the ball particularly well. Despite the poor shooting, both teams did a solid job crashing the offensive glass to create extra scoring opportunities as both teams had eight second-chance points.
Junior forward Reggie Chaney made his presence felt off the bench, scoring a team-high 10 first half points to give the Cougars a slight lead heading into the half.
UH came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders to begin the second half, opening with a quick 9-0 run to extend the Cougars’ lead to 13.
UH continued to build upon its lead with effort and hustle on both sides of the court, getting it all the way up to 19 points midway through the second half.
The Cougars were able to fend off SMU’s comeback efforts down the stretch to secure the victory and improve to 15-1 and 10-1 in the American Athletic Conference on the season.
Sophomore guard Marcus Sasser led the Cougars in scoring with 19 points.
Senior forward Justin Gorham recorded his eighth straight double-digit rebound game with 17 boards , the longest streak at UH since Tim Moore’s eight consecutive double-digit rebound games during the 1995-96 season.
