Senior point guard Jamal Shead became the seventh Cougar ever to record 500 career assists during UH’s win over Montana. | Anh Le/The Cougar
The No. 6 Houston Cougars returned home Friday and dominated the Montana Grizzlies, winning 79-44 in the two teams’ first-ever matchup.
Houston jumped out to a dominant 11-0 early lead, including a perfect 5-5 from the field.
Montana did not score their first points of the game until almost five minutes in with a three-pointer.
Senior forward J’Wan Roberts was dominant early on for the Cougars, scoring six points in the paint. Roberts finished with 13 points and six boards.
After a media timeout, the Grizzlies fought back with a couple of baskets to make it 14-5, but UH once again separated.
Houston continued to play stifling defense, forcing a couple of shot clock violations and bringing the clock almost down to zero a few times.
Senior guard LJ Cryer once again hit a big three-pointer, this time from the corner right before the final seconds of the first half ran out. This gave senior point guard Jamal Shead his 500th career assist. UH led 41-14 at the half.
Shead recorded seven assists for the game while Cryer scored a game-high of 24 points on 9-16 shooting.
In the second half, graduate guard Damian Dunn started to settle in late with a basket plus a foul, ultimately finishing with eight points.
The senior back-court of Cryer and Shead went to work, as Shead had some tight defense and forced a turnover. Shead passed it up ahead to Cryer who quickly drove through the paint and finished the basket causing the crowd to erupt.
UH cruised for the rest of the game, securing its seventh straight win to begin the season.
Roberts became the first Cougar in school history to win 50 games in the Fertitta Center.
Up next, Houston will face a test at Xavier on the road on Dec. 1 as part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle.
