Brooks, Hinton lead Houston past No. 18 Oregon 65-61
AP
Dec 02, 2018
HOUSTON (AP) The Houston Cougars opened their new home with a big victory.
Armoni Brooks had 22 points and nine rebounds, Nate Hinton added 14 points and Houston won its 20th straight home game, 65-61 over 18th-ranked Oregon Ducks on Saturday night.
Brooks was 7 of 14 from the field, including 6 of 13 on 3-pointers, to lead Houston (6-0), which shot 33 percent from the field.
Corey Davis had 12 points for Houston, which opened its new $60 million Fertitta Center. The Cougars' previous 19 straight home wins came at Texas Southern's H&PE Arena, their temporary home while the new arena was under construction.
''There's always one first night, one opening night,'' Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said, adding that with the recent facility upgrades at Houston, ''We can play big-time basketball. . We are knocking on the door, and these facilities are going to help us.''
Bol Bol had 23 points and seven rebounds and Will Richardson added 16 points for the Ducks (4-3), who lost their second straight after falling at home to Texas Southern on Monday. Oregon shot 40 percent from the field.
''We have a lot of work to do,'' Oregon coach Dana Altman said. ''We are not a very good basketball team, so we have a lot of work to do.''
Trailing by 14, Oregon used an 11-2 run to close within 62-57 on Bol's three-point play with 38 seconds left. After Brooks missed two free throws, Richardson connected on two free throws to cut the lead to three with 23 seconds left. Cedrick Alley connected on 1 of 2 free throws before Bol followed with a dunk to cut the lead to two with 10 seconds left, but then Brooks hit two free throws to ice the win.
''When a team's coming back on you, most time it's due to your contribution,'' Sampson said. ''We were turning the ball over and missing free throws, so my thought was don't turn the ball over and make your free throws. That was about it.''
Houston jumped out to a 37-18 lead at the half behind 14 points each from Brooks and Hinton. The Cougars used an 18-3 run over a five-minute stretch to open up a 33-13 lead on Hinton's 3-pointer with 3:43 left in the half. Brooks had six points in the run to lead the Cougars.
''When I made the first couple three's, my teammates were just telling me to just shoot it,'' Brooks said. ''When your teammates have confidence in you, it gives yourself tremendous confidence.''
Oregon struggled in the first half, shooting 6 of 19 with 10 turnovers.
''We froze,'' Altman said of the first half. ''We were awful. No transition points, points off turnovers they had a big advantage, second chance points 9-0. It was an awful half. We were down by 19, it was just bad half of basketball. Second half, we turned all three of those categories around. . When you dig a hole 19 down, it's hard to come back.''
BIG PICTURE
Bol, Richardson and Kenny Wooten combined for the Ducks' 18 first-half points. Oregon hit 6 of 26 3-pointers.
Houston got a win against a Power Five team to help its resume early in the season. The Cougars continued to struggle from long distance, going 9 for 35, but connected on 18 of 23 from the free-throw line.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
With two losses this week, Oregon will likely drop out of the AP Top 25. Houston, which had one vote in this week's poll, should receive more votes.
NEW DIGS
The Fertitta Center is named after Houston Rockets owner and University of Houston system board of regents chairman Tilman Fertitta, who made a $20 million gift in August 2016. Fertitta, who briefly spoke pregame, delivered the game ball and gave it to the official scorer with a behind-the-back pass from the middle of the court.
UP NEXT
Oregon plays the first of four straight games at home starting Dec. 8 against Nebraska-Omaha.
Houston hosts Lamar on Tuesday.
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1st Half
ORE
Ducks
18
HOU
Cougars
37
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Jumpball received by Houston
19:47
Bad pass turnover on Galen Robinson Jr., stolen by Payton Pritchard
19:39
Payton Pritchard missed jump shot
19:37
Offensive rebound by Kenny Wooten
19:17
Paul White missed fade-away jump shot
19:15
Defensive rebound by Corey Davis Jr.
19:11
+3
Armoni Brooks made 3-pt. jump shot, assist by Corey Davis Jr.
0-3
18:47
+2
Kenny Wooten made hook shot, assist by Paul White
2-3
18:20
+3
Armoni Brooks made 3-pt. jump shot, assist by Cedrick Alley Jr.
2-6
18:00
+2
Bol Bol made driving dunk, assist by Ehab Amin
4-6
17:34
Armoni Brooks missed 3-pt. jump shot
17:32
Defensive rebound by Ehab Amin
17:24
Paul White missed 3-pt. jump shot
17:22
Defensive rebound by Galen Robinson Jr.
17:13
Galen Robinson Jr. missed floating jump shot
17:11
Defensive rebound by Bol Bol
16:40
Shot clock violation turnover on Oregon
16:10
Corey Davis Jr. missed jump shot
16:08
Offensive rebound by Brison Gresham
16:03
Jumpball received by Oregon
16:03
Lost ball turnover on Brison Gresham, stolen by Kenny Wooten
15:50
Offensive foul on Paul White
15:50
Turnover on Paul White
15:36
Offensive foul on Brison Gresham
15:36
Turnover on Brison Gresham
15:17
Payton Pritchard missed 3-pt. jump shot
15:15
Defensive rebound by Armoni Brooks
15:08
+2
Corey Davis Jr. made jump shot
4-8
14:44
Bol Bol missed driving layup, blocked by Brison Gresham
14:42
Defensive rebound by Brison Gresham
14:30
Corey Davis Jr. missed 3-pt. jump shot
14:28
Offensive rebound by Brison Gresham
14:22
Cedrick Alley Jr. missed 3-pt. jump shot
14:20
Defensive rebound by Ehab Amin
14:04
Lost ball turnover on Payton Pritchard, stolen by Galen Robinson Jr.
13:42
+2
Nate Hinton made floating jump shot
4-10
13:19
Ehab Amin missed 3-pt. turnaround jump shot
13:17
Defensive rebound by Nate Hinton
13:11
Nate Hinton missed 3-pt. jump shot
13:06
Defensive rebound by Oregon
12:41
Kenny Wooten missed floating jump shot
12:39
Defensive rebound by Brison Gresham
12:37
Traveling violation turnover on Brison Gresham
12:16
Personal foul on Breaon Brady
12:14
+3
Bol Bol made 3-pt. turnaround jump shot, assist by Will Richardson
7-10
11:46
Galen Robinson Jr. missed 3-pt. jump shot
11:44
Defensive rebound by Will Richardson
11:44
Personal foul on Breaon Brady
11:33
Bad pass turnover on Victor Bailey Jr.
11:24
Jumpball received by Houston
11:17
Fabian White Jr. missed driving layup
11:15
Offensive rebound by Nate Hinton
11:16
+2
Nate Hinton made dunk
7-12
11:16
Shooting foul on Victor Bailey Jr.
11:16
+1
Nate Hinton made free throw
7-13
11:05
Personal foul on Fabian White Jr.
10:47
Payton Pritchard missed 3-pt. jump shot
10:45
Offensive rebound by Victor Bailey Jr.
10:19
Offensive foul on Paul White
10:19
Turnover on Paul White
10:14
Bad pass turnover on Nate Hinton, stolen by Victor Bailey Jr.
10:10
Shooting foul on Corey Davis Jr.
10:10
Will Richardson missed 1st of 2 free throws
10:10
+1
Will Richardson made 2nd of 2 free throws
8-13
9:45
Corey Davis Jr. missed 3-pt. jump shot
9:43
Offensive rebound by Brison Gresham
9:37
+2
Nate Hinton made jump shot, assist by Brison Gresham
8-15
9:15
Traveling violation turnover on Bol Bol
9:07
Armoni Brooks missed 3-pt. jump shot
9:05
Defensive rebound by Bol Bol
8:54
+2
Kenny Wooten made dunk, assist by Will Richardson
10-15
8:44
Personal foul on Will Richardson
8:30
Corey Davis Jr. missed 3-pt. jump shot
8:28
Defensive rebound by Bol Bol
8:17
Bad pass turnover on Kenny Wooten, stolen by Brison Gresham
8:10
+3
Corey Davis Jr. made 3-pt. jump shot, assist by Galen Robinson Jr.
10-18
7:51
Abu Kigab missed 3-pt. jump shot
7:49
Defensive rebound by Cedrick Alley Jr.
7:25
+2
Corey Davis Jr. made hook shot
10-20
7:03
Bad pass turnover on Francis Okoro, stolen by Brison Gresham
6:55
+3
Armoni Brooks made 3-pt. jump shot, assist by Galen Robinson Jr.
10-23
6:47
Personal foul on Brison Gresham
6:43
+2
Will Richardson made layup
12-23
6:42
Shooting foul on Corey Davis Jr.
6:42
+1
Will Richardson made free throw
13-23
6:22
+2
Fabian White Jr. made layup, assist by Galen Robinson Jr.