No. 2 Houston men’s basketball cruises past Rider in 91-45 victory

The same Fertitta Center air that seemed to blow Rider’s shot attempts away from the rim Thursday night happened to be the one that No. 2 Houston men’s basketball had a hard time missing in, shooting 56% from the field in its 91-45 win. 

Two Cougars in particular didn’t miss the entire first half. 

Freshman guard Kingston Flemings and freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. combined to shoot a spotless 9-for-9 from the floor at intermission, while being Houston’s two leading scorers. 

The perfect shooting figure was only blemished as Flemings missed a free-throw-line jump shot early in the second half.

Flemings finished with a team-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while Cenac added 12 points, remaining a perfect 5-for-5 the entire game.

Meanwhile, no Rider starter shot better than 36% from the floor, as the team shot a lowly 31%, making just 16 field goals the entire game. 

The driver behind Houston’s defensive success, junior forward JoJo Tugler, rejected four of those field goal attempts and stopped three more from ever becoming shots with steals. 

After fouling out of Houston’s matchup with then-No. 22 Auburn, Tugler played 20 minutes on Thursday against the Broncs and recorded 12 points and nine rebounds. 

“I know I can get better than that, I know I can play better than that. That’s what I’m taking away. I feel like I could’ve done more,” Tugler said.

Sophomore guard Mercy Miller, who had only scored in two of his four appearances this season, logged a season-high in minutes with 25. 

With one minute remaining and already having recorded 12 points, Miller forced a turnover, leading to a layup on the other end for a career-high 14.

Following the contest, Houston took a moment to commemorate redshirt senior guard Emanuel Sharp, who tallied his 100th career victory.

“I hope people around here don’t take that for granted,” Sampson said. “I’m assuming we’re going to win a few more games this year, no telling what that number will be.”

Sharp finished the night with 15 points on 5-12 shooting, including three 3-pointers.

Next up, the 5-0 Cougars compete in the Player’s Era Tournament in Las Vegas, Nev., with action beginning on Monday against Syracuse and running through Wednesday.