Houston guard L.J. Cryer (4) prepares to move with the ball against Iowa State guard Nate Heise (0) during the first half of an NCAA men’s basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, in Houston, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
No. 5 Houston men’s basketball team weathered the storm in a defensive battle against No. 8 Iowa State Cyclones, winning 68-59 inside the Fertitta Center in a nationally televised matchup.
Graduate guard L.J. Cryer finished the game with 28 points and recorded five 3-pointers.
“As far as I am concerned, he can’t take a bad shot because of his maturity,” coach Kelvin Sampson said.
Junior guard Milos Uzan and Cryer combined for 30 of the Cougars’ 34 points in the first half as Iowa State went without a field goal for 9:23 until junior guard Tamin Lipsey knocked down his second 3-pointer of the half.
In the second half, Iowa State responded to Houston’s early heroics with an 18-7 run to cut Houston’s lead to five, with Cryer scoring all seven of UH’s points during that stint.
Uzan and Cryer continued their offensive spark from the first half, scoring a 3-pointer and a layup to put Houston up seven late in the game.
Sharp hit a dagger 3-point jumper with under a minute left in the game to secure the victory for the Cougars.
The Cyclones played without their top two scorers, senior guards Keshon Gilbert and Curtis Jones, who account for over 31 points per game this season.
It took Iowa State a half to get adjusted, but sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic stepped up big and was able to get into the paint consistently for easy layups, drawing several shooting fouls.
He scored all 16 of his points in the second half and brought his team within two points of the Cougars.
Houston’s defense forced 12 turnovers that led to 16 points.
UH leads the Big 12 in the lowest number of turnovers per game, but Iowa State forced 17 Cougar turnovers.
The Cougar’s offense picked up the slack with a 53.2 field goal percentage and shot 58.8% from behind the arc, including 10 made 3-pointers.
To begin the game, Uzan drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to put Houston up eight points and force an early Iowa State timeout.
Cryer kept the momentum going by swishing back-to-back 3-pointers of his own to extend the lead to 23-13.
After a steal by sophomore forward Joseph Tugler, redshirt sophomore guard Terrance Arceneaux made a layup to continue Houston’s 10-0 scoring run and take a 12-point lead.
UH extended the run to 15-2 with Cryer’s third 3-pointer of the scoring streak to lead by 15.
Uzan increased his first-half total to 14 with a layup to put the Cougars up 34-22 going into halftime.
Houston played strong defense in the first half by forcing nine turnovers with six steals and two blocks.
Iowa State’s defense also played Houston tough as they forced 10 Cougar turnovers at the half.
To begin the second half, an entirely new set of scorers emerged for the Cougars.
Redshirt junior guard Emmanuel Sharp scored seven quick points.
Graduate forward J’Wan Roberts and senior forward Ja’Vier Francis scored their first points.
In a well-rounded effort, the Cougars got revenge after losing to the Cyclones in the Big 12 tournament last season.
Uzan scored 19 points and grabbed four rebounds.
Sharp had an efficient shooting game with 11 points on 60% shooting, including a game-clinching 3-pointer.
Momcilovic led Iowa State with 16 points and five rebounds.
Senior guard Nate Heise followed with 12 points and two rebounds.
The Cougars improved to 23-4 overall and 15-1 in conference play. Sampson recorded his 787th victory, the 17th most in NCAA history.
Next, the Cougars will travel to Lubbock, Texas, to play No. 9 Texas Tech on Monday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m.
