Uzan, Sharp lift Houston past Syracuse in overtime to open Players Era Festival

Senior guards Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp powered the No. 3 Cougars past Syracuse in the Players Era Festival, each scoring 26 points and combining for all of Houston’s points in overtime as the Cougars pulled out a 78-74 win in Las Vegas, Nev.

“At the end of the season, it’s just gonna say the win,” Sharp said to TNT in a postgame interview. “We have to improve, we’re going to get better, but right now we won.”

Freshman center Chris Cenac Jr. went scoreless in the first half before erupting late, pouring in eight straight points, beginning with a go-ahead 3-pointer.

It sparked the run that gave Houston a lead it never relinquished, until less than a minute remained, as the orange went on a 11-0 run to tie the game at 67 with 54.6 seconds, and erase Houston’s largest lead of the game.

Uzan, who scored a career high heaved up a shot with 27 seconds left, as the Cougars battled for the rebound, but they gave Syracuse the last shot of regulation, one junior forward JoJo Tugler blocked at the rim to force overtime, which would not have been a thought had Syracuse shot any better from the line.

Syracuse went 12-29 from the line, meanwhile Sharp alone hit a career high 11 free throws, while Uzan shot a perfect 6-6 including hi sixth that made it a two possession game in overtime.

Tugler set the tone early, blocking three shots in the first three minutes, but foul trouble followed him into the second half. Less than three minutes after the break, he picked up his third foul, and by the 14-minute mark both starting bigs, Tugler and Cenac were sitting on three fouls apiece, with Tugler fouling out with just over a minute left in overtime.

In the first half, Houston finally found some rhythm with an 11-0 run that ended when Uzan hit freshman guard Kingston Flemings for his first field goal of the night from beyond the arc. 

Flemings followed with a 3-pointer on the next possession before kicking a pass out to redshirt freshman Chase McCarty, whose triple gave Houston a lead it held until the 15-minute mark of the second half.

Sophomore forward Tyler Betsy led the Orange with 16 points in the absence of top scorer sophomore forward Donnie Freeman, who is out for the entire tournament with a leg injury.

The Cougars return to action to face No. 17 Tennesse on Wednesday at 5 p.m.