Houston Guard Milos Uzan (7) commanding the floor during the second half of an NCAA college men’s basketball game, Monday, Feb.10, 2025 in Houston , Texas. | Joshua Braggs/The Cougar
In a high-stakes showdown between the top two teams in the Big 12 conference, junior guard Milos Uzan led No. 6 Houston to a road victory in the desert despite an early scoring drought.
Houston’s toughness was on display in the game’s final minutes, leading to a 62-58 win over the No. 13 Arizona Wildcats.
With the victory, Houston collected its 11th straight road victory, the longest active streak in college basketball.
With 8:32 left in the game, Houston switched its offense on and completed a much-needed 16-2 run.
Graduate guard L.J. Cryer drilled a step-back 3-point jumper with 5:57 remaining to give Houston their first lead since early in the first half.
On the following possession, Cryer swished another 3-pointer to give the Cougars a 53-48 lead.
Arizona forced back-to-back UH turnovers, and freshman forward Carter Bryant hit a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the lead to one point and force a Houston timeout.
Despite making their first 10 free throws of the game, four missed free throws plagued Arizona down the final stretch. Uzan took advantage of the miss and swished a jumper to give the Cougars a three-point advantage.
Redshirt sophomore guard Terrance Arceneaux and graduate forward J’Wan Roberts sealed the game by making three out of four free throws at the end of the period.
UH struggled to open up offensively to start the game, leaving their scoring dry in the desert. The Cougars only managed 10 points in the first 13 minutes of the game.
They began the first half shooting 25% from the field and missed all four attempts from behind the arc.
Uzan was Houston’s only offense for most of the contest and finished with 19 points, five assists and two steals. Most of his points were scored off of floaters that were made available from high screens.
Cryer stepped up big time in the second-half and scored 10 out of his 15 points in the last period.
Redshirt junior guard Emanuel Sharp could not get comfortable in this game and was 0-6 from deep. He also had a costly turnover to begin the second half and only played seven minutes in the period.
Houston shot 43.1% from the field and 29.3% from behind the arc. Despite a slow start, the Cougars still managed to outshoot Arizona in both categories.
Houston’s defense forced 11 turnovers, which led to 13 points. The Cougars also attacked the paint well, scoring 36 points down low.
This was a rare game in which UH was outrebounded. Arizona managed to grab nine more boards than the aggressive Houston squad.
Senior guard Caleb Love was the story of the game for Arizona. He managed the offense well, scoring 17 points and recording seven assists.
Sophomore guard KJ Lewis was a spark off the bench for the Wildcats and tallied 13 points and six rebounds.
Sophomore forward Henri Veesaar played crucial minutes off the bench and was tasked with guarding Roberts. He held Houston’s star center to just 3-11 shooting and added seven points, three rebounds and a block.
UH’s sophomore forward Joseph Tugler continues to be a problem down low for opposing big men. He scored eight points, including two powerful slam dunks, and grabbed five rebounds. Tugler also played tough defense, recording a block and a steal.
This win against the second-best team in the conference gave the Cougars their second-ranked win of the season and solidified Houston’s status as the top team in the Big 12 conference.
“Our kids are good at staying in the moment,” coach Kelvin Sampson said. “If you focus on what’s in front of you, and not what is ahead of you, you usually make better decisions.”
Next up, the Cougars will play the Arizona State Sun Devils on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 9 p.m.
