UH-Western Kentucky rundown: Cougars, Hilltoppers meet in late battle

Houston men’s basketball guard Quentin Grimes (24) drives through Cincinnati defenders for a layup on Sunday at Fertitta Center. The UH men’s basketball team will host Western Kentucky on Thursday. | Andy Yanez/The Cougar

The Houston men’s basketball team returns to action in a late add-in non-conference game against Western Kentucky on Thursday at Fertitta Center.

The Cougars (18-3, 12-3 American Athletic Conference) are coming off a dominating performance against the Cincinnati Bearcats, which included a 55-11 run in favor of the home team that stretched the two halves of play.

UH won the game 90-52. Junior guard Quentin Grimes led the way with 20 points and eight rebounds. Senior forward Fabian White Jr. had 10 points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes of play against the Bearcats in just his second game back.

A look at Western Kentucky

The Hilltoppers (15-4, 8-2 Conference-USA) are coming off an 89-66 win over Rice on Feb. 13.

WKU was led by junior center Charles Bassey, who had 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field, four rebounds and a block.

“They are coached by a veteran (Rick Stansbury), who knows exactly what he is doing and has put his team together well,” said UH head coach Kelvin Sampson. “I always thought that Rick was an outstanding coach.”

Bassey is a key player for the Hilltoppers, who garnered high praise from Sampson.

“Every time they walk out on the floor, they’re always going to have the best player on the floor,” Sampson said. “Charles Bassey is going to be the best player on the floor, and that’s not a slight to any of my kids. Bassey is just a monster.”

Bassey is averaging 18 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game, all of which are team-highs for WKU.

Hilltoppers’ senior guard Taveion Hollingsworth is also averaging 13.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest. Senior guard Josh Anderson is the third WKU player that averages double-digit points with 10.1 a game.

The Hilltoppers have won games over Alabama and Memphis and took ranked-opponent West Virginia down to the wire early in the season before ultimately falling to the Mountaineers by six.