Cryer, Shead lead No. 6 Houston to Charleston title with 69-55 victory over Dayton
AP
Nov 19, 2023
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) Amid all the new faces on this year's team, Houston Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson is glad he's got experienced senior Jamal Shead to lead the way.
Shead had 16 points and got the sixth-ranked Cougars off to a fast start in a 69-55 victory over Dayton Flyers to win the Charleston Classic championship on Sunday night.
LJ Cryer, the Baylor transfer, led the way with 18 points off four 3-pointers. But it was Shead's confident, knowledgeable approach that led the Cougars to their 34th all-time regular-season tournament title in the eight-team event.
“Jamal's been with me four years,” said Sampson, whose team opened 6-0 for a second straight season. “There's a level of trust built up that you don't have after five months” with incoming transfers.
“Jamal's been on a Final Four team, an Elite Eight team, a Sweet 16 team” with the Cougars, Sampson said. “He knows the way I want him to play. He knows the way the team should look.”
The Cougars looked, mostly, as good as Sampson could hope in their three games at College of Charleston's home court. They defeated Towson, Utah and the Flyers (3-2) by double digits after quickly opening up leads.
Shead, who started his 66th straight game for Houston, also added six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Cryer averaged 16.7 points for the three wins here and was named the event's most outstanding player.
The Cougars took advantage of Dayton's cold start - the Flyers made just one of their first seven shots - to open an early double-digit lead. The Flyers came as close at 19-15 after that until Houston responded with an 11-3 burst to restore the large margin.
The Cougars were able to keep Dayton at arms length and took a 36-28 lead into the break. They continued pushing the pace and eventually opened a 54-34 lead midway through the second half.
DaRon Holmes II had 16 points for Dayton.
THE BIG PICTURE
Dayton: The Flyers had to rally in the second half in their first two Charleston games in beating LSU and St. John's. They could not get away with it a third straight game as they managed to shoot just 26.9% (7 of 26) in the final 20 minutes.
Houston: Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson talked throughout the tournament of the struggles in pulling together this group that lost three starters from a 33-win team a year ago. The blending process seemed to go very well in these three game.
COUGAR EFFORT
Houston was relentless on the boards and with its defense, both hallmarks of Sampson's best teams. The Cougars had 17 offensive rebounds to Dayton's nine. They scored almost three times as many points off turnovers as their opponents, 16-6, and had seven steals to just three for Dayton.
LONG TIME, NO SEE
It was the second straight game Houston took on an opponent it hadn't played in decades. It defeated Utah in the semifinals, 76-66, a team it last played during its Phi Slama Jama days in December 1982 in Tokyo. It was even longer between matchups with Dayton, where these teams last faced off in 1975.
UP NEXT
Dayton returns home to play Youngstown State on Friday night.
Houston plays at home against Montana on Friday.
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1st Half
DAYT
Flyers
28
HOU
Cougars
36
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
(Cougars gains possession)
19:47
J'wan Roberts misses two point hook shot
19:45
Nate Santos defensive rebound
19:25
Kobe Elvis misses two point jump shot
19:23
J'wan Roberts defensive rebound
19:17
+2
Jamal Shead makes two point layup
0-2
18:56
Nate Santos misses two point jump shot
18:54
LJ Cryer defensive rebound
18:43
LJ Cryer misses three point jump shot
18:41
Nate Santos defensive rebound
18:31
Ja'Vier Francis shooting foul (DaRon Holmes II draws the foul)
18:31
+1
DaRon Holmes II makes regular free throw 1 of 2
1-2
18:31
DaRon Holmes II misses regular free throw 2 of 2
18:31
J'wan Roberts defensive rebound
18:21
+2
Jamal Shead makes two point jump shot
1-4
18:00
+3
Nate Santos makes three point jump shot (DaRon Holmes II assists)
4-4
17:42
Jamal Shead misses two point jump shot
17:40
Cougars offensive rebound
17:33
LJ Cryer turnover (bad pass)
17:20
Jump ball. (Flyers gains possession)
17:14
Enoch Cheeks turnover (out of bounds)
16:57
+2
Damian Dunn makes two point jump shot
4-6
16:37
Kobe Elvis misses three point jump shot
16:35
Jamal Shead defensive rebound
16:14
+3
Jamal Shead makes three point jump shot (Damian Dunn assists)
4-9
15:59
DaRon Holmes II misses three point jump shot
15:57
Ja'Vier Francis defensive rebound
15:45
Damian Dunn misses two point jump shot
15:43
Ja'Vier Francis offensive rebound
15:41
Nate Santos blocks Ja'Vier Francis's two point jump shot
15:40
Cougars offensive rebound
15:40
TV timeout
15:27
Jamal Shead turnover (bad pass)
15:13
J'wan Roberts blocks Javon Bennett's three point jump shot
15:11
Flyers offensive rebound
15:02
Isaac Jack turnover (J'wan Roberts steals)
14:57
+3
LJ Cryer makes three point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists)
4-12
14:35
Enoch Cheeks misses three point jump shot
14:33
Jamal Shead defensive rebound
14:11
+2
J'wan Roberts makes two point jump shot
4-14
13:51
+2
Isaac Jack makes two point dunk (Javon Bennett assists)
6-14
13:22
+3
LJ Cryer makes three point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists)
6-17
12:53
+2
Isaac Jack makes two point layup (Koby Brea assists)
8-17
12:26
LJ Cryer misses two point jump shot
12:24
Nate Santos defensive rebound
12:16
LJ Cryer personal foul
11:54
+2
DaRon Holmes II makes two point layup (Kobe Elvis assists)
10-17
11:29
Emanuel Sharp misses two point jump shot
11:27
Ja'Vier Francis offensive rebound
11:22
Emanuel Sharp misses three point jump shot
11:20
Ja'Vier Francis offensive rebound
11:05
+2
LJ Cryer makes two point jump shot
10-19
10:57
Enoch Cheeks turnover (lost ball)
10:57
TV timeout
10:32
Emanuel Sharp misses three point jump shot
10:30
Koby Brea defensive rebound
10:10
+3
Nate Santos makes three point jump shot (Kobe Elvis assists)
13-19
9:49
Terrance Arceneaux misses two point jump shot
9:47
DaRon Holmes II defensive rebound
9:46
Emanuel Sharp personal foul
9:20
Nate Santos turnover (Damian Dunn steals)
9:15
Damian Dunn turnover (bad pass)
8:55
+2
Zimi Nwokeji makes two point dunk (Kobe Elvis assists)
15-19
8:39
Damian Dunn misses two point jump shot
8:37
Terrance Arceneaux offensive rebound
8:34
+2
Terrance Arceneaux makes two point layup
15-21
8:07
Koby Brea turnover (Jamal Shead steals)
8:03
+2
Jamal Shead makes two point layup
15-23
7:44
Nate Santos turnover (lost ball)
7:44
TV timeout
7:21
DaRon Holmes II blocks Emanuel Sharp's two point jump shot
7:19
Terrance Arceneaux offensive rebound
7:10
+3
Jamal Shead makes three point jump shot (Terrance Arceneaux assists)
15-26
6:50
+3
Nate Santos makes three point jump shot (DaRon Holmes II assists)
18-26
6:20
Emanuel Sharp misses two point jump shot
6:18
J'wan Roberts offensive rebound
6:10
+2
Damian Dunn makes two point jump shot
18-28
5:54
DaRon Holmes II turnover (J'wan Roberts steals)
5:29
Emanuel Sharp misses three point jump shot
5:27
Terrance Arceneaux offensive rebound
5:21
Cougars turnover (shot clock violation)
5:08
Javon Bennett misses three point jump shot
5:06
Damian Dunn defensive rebound
4:56
Isaac Jack personal foul
4:39
+2
LJ Cryer makes two point jump shot
18-30
4:16
+2
Nate Santos makes two point layup
20-30
3:51
LJ Cryer misses two point layup
3:49
Cougars offensive rebound
3:49
TV timeout
3:41
Jamal Shead misses two point jump shot
3:39
J'wan Roberts offensive rebound
3:34
Koby Brea personal foul
3:15
Jamal Shead misses two point jump shot
3:13
Koby Brea defensive rebound
3:04
+2
DaRon Holmes II makes two point dunk (Kobe Elvis assists)
22-30
2:31
+3
LJ Cryer makes three point jump shot (J'wan Roberts assists)
22-33
1:59
Kobe Elvis misses three point jump shot
1:57
Jamal Shead defensive rebound
1:35
Jamal Shead misses three point jump shot
1:33
DaRon Holmes II defensive rebound
1:22
+2
DaRon Holmes II makes two point jump shot (Kobe Elvis assists)
24-33
0:55
LJ Cryer misses three point jump shot
0:53
Enoch Cheeks defensive rebound
0:44
DaRon Holmes II misses two point layup
0:42
DaRon Holmes II offensive rebound
0:39
+2
DaRon Holmes II makes two point layup
26-33
0:31
Cougars 30 second timeout
0:22
+3
Terrance Arceneaux makes three point jump shot (J'wan Roberts assists)
26-36
0:05
+2
Nate Santos makes two point jump shot (Kobe Elvis assists)
28-36
0:00
End of period
2nd Half
DAYT
Flyers
27
HOU
Cougars
33
Time
Team
Play
Score
19:56
+2
J'wan Roberts makes two point jump shot
28-38
19:47
Nate Santos misses two point jump shot
19:45
J'wan Roberts defensive rebound
19:31
+3
Damian Dunn makes three point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists)
28-41
19:04
+2
DaRon Holmes II makes two point layup
30-41
18:38
Ja'Vier Francis misses two point jump shot
18:36
Ja'Vier Francis offensive rebound
18:33
+2
Ja'Vier Francis makes two point jump shot
30-43
17:59
LJ Cryer personal foul
17:49
Kobe Elvis misses two point jump shot
17:47
Kobe Elvis offensive rebound
17:36
Ja'Vier Francis blocks DaRon Holmes II's two point jump shot
17:34
Flyers offensive rebound
17:29
Javon Bennett misses three point jump shot
17:27
Ja'Vier Francis defensive rebound
17:21
Javon Bennett personal foul
17:05
Damian Dunn misses three point jump shot
17:03
DaRon Holmes II defensive rebound
16:55
Emanuel Sharp personal foul
16:48
Kobe Elvis misses two point jump shot
16:46
Flyers offensive rebound
16:45
Damian Dunn personal foul
16:38
Javon Bennett misses three point jump shot
16:36
Jamal Shead defensive rebound
16:23
+2
Jamal Shead makes two point jump shot
30-45
16:06
Javon Bennett misses three point jump shot
16:04
Emanuel Sharp defensive rebound
15:33
Enoch Cheeks blocks Damian Dunn's two point jump shot
15:33
Cougars offensive rebound
15:31
TV timeout
15:29
LJ Cryer misses two point jump shot
15:29
Flyers defensive rebound
15:29
Joseph Tugler personal foul
15:14
Damian Dunn blocks Kobe Elvis's two point jump shot
15:12
Kobe Elvis offensive rebound
15:05
Koby Brea misses three point jump shot
15:03
Joseph Tugler defensive rebound
14:37
Damian Dunn misses two point jump shot
14:35
Koby Brea defensive rebound
14:25
Joseph Tugler shooting foul (DaRon Holmes II draws the foul)
14:25
+1
DaRon Holmes II makes regular free throw 1 of 2
31-45
14:25
+1
DaRon Holmes II makes regular free throw 2 of 2
32-45
14:18
+2
Emanuel Sharp makes two point jump shot (LJ Cryer assists)
32-47
14:00
DaRon Holmes II turnover (Damian Dunn steals)
13:48
+3
LJ Cryer makes three point jump shot (J'wan Roberts assists)
32-50
13:17
DaRon Holmes II turnover (lost ball)
13:08
LJ Cryer misses three point jump shot
13:06
Damian Dunn offensive rebound
12:49
Kobe Elvis shooting foul (Damian Dunn draws the foul)
12:45
+2
Emanuel Sharp makes two point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists)
32-52
12:41
Joseph Tugler blocks Enoch Cheeks's two point jump shot
12:34
Enoch Cheeks offensive rebound
12:34
Terrance Arceneaux shooting foul (Enoch Cheeks draws the foul)
12:34
+1
Enoch Cheeks makes regular free throw 1 of 2
33-52
12:34
+1
Enoch Cheeks makes regular free throw 2 of 2
34-52
12:24
+2
Joseph Tugler makes two point layup (Emanuel Sharp assists)
34-54
12:14
Javon Bennett misses two point jump shot
12:12
Flyers offensive rebound
11:51
+3
Zimi Nwokeji makes three point jump shot (Koby Brea assists)
