Sampson praises bench impact after Houston’s win over Cincinnati

The three players who left coach Kelvin Sampson the most pleased after No. 10 Houston men’s basketball’s 76-54 win over Cincinnati were not even in his starting lineup.

“Isiah (Harwell), Mercy (Miller) and Kalifa (Sakho). I thought those three guys came off the bench and made us better,” Sampson said.

Freshman guard Harwell led all bench scorers with 13 points in only 17 minutes, including 11 second-half points to pair with 5-of-6 free throw shooting.

Graduate Forward Sakho tallied three rebounds off the bench, including one on the offensive glass, in 14 minutes of action.

Sophomore guard Miller totaled a personal conference-best 18 minutes alongside seven points.

During Houston’s win over TCU Wednesday night, redshirt freshman forward Chase McCarty suffered a left wrist injury that left him sidelined for Saturday’s contest, opening up more minutes for the other reserves.

“My goal is just to have my brothers’ back,” Harwell said. “We’re playing 5-on-5 out there, so everybody needs somebody to help them, really rely on each other.”

The three have all battled for their minutes, which Sampson called “earned, not given,” amid a deep Houston roster.

Now, the trio is having to step up for the team, just as their teammates were there for Harwell and Sakho as they made up for lost time from summer procedures and Miller as he continued to find his footing.

Harwell was not a full participant in practice until October amid a knee procedure.

Sakho similarly, was hindered by back surgery, which also caused him to miss time before the season, with both newcomers missing critical time to learn the program’s culture.

Miller–still finding his role in Houston’s second unit, had played just 27 Big 12 minutes in his second year heading into Saturday’s contest. 

Miller entered the game with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half, going 2-for-2 from the floor, and stayed in through the end of the period.

Sakho checked in even earlier, with just over three minutes having ticked off the first half.

Sampson said after the game that the two early substitutions were by design. What kept them in was their production on the floor.

“We didn’t have any dropoff tonight,” Sampson said. “Sometimes when I substitute–you guys can’t see it, but I can–there’s a dropoff.

That mindset showed defensively as well, with Houston holding Cincinnati to its second-lowest point total of the season, and below 40% from the floor.

Senior forward Baba Miller, Cincinnati’s leading scorer, was held to two points by Houston’s defense—12 points below his season average.

The Cougars forced 19 Bearcat turnovers, including a season-high six from graduate guard Day Day Thomas, who finished with as many turnovers as he had points. 

“I looked down and Day Day had six, Jizzle (James) had three, Keyshuan (Tillery) had four. If I’m not mistaken, that’s 13 through backcourt players. That’s going to be hard to overcome,” Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said.

Houston’s second half against TCU sparked an initiative for Sampson: keeping his players fresh throughout the Big 12 grind to produce more consistent results on both ends of the floor.

He saw it pay off against Cincinnati, saying he thought the team was better offensively and defensively for longer stretches.

“It’s not like we were looking to make our defense better; it’s always been good,” Sampson said. “I think we can be better longer.”

One of the players in mind was freshman guard Kingston Flemings, who finished with seven points on 2-9 shooting and had carried the scoring load for Houston in recent games.

Despite Houston’s own backcourt in Flemings and senior guard Milos Uzan being responsible for all four of its own turnovers, it came alongside one of Uzan’s most efficient games of conference play.

Uzan bounced back offensively and led UH in scoring, finishing with 16 points on 7-for-12 from the floor after consecutive games shooting just 33.3%. He’d also distribute five assists to one turnover.

He was the only UH starter to play 30 minutes.

“That’s why we have a team,” Sampson said. “Name on the front of the jersey says Houston.”