Thomas scores 25 in Houston Cougars' 88-74 win over the Temple Owls

Danuel House (23) had three massive dunks for the Cougars
in their 88-74 win over the Temple Owls.
Photo by Darla S Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2014 All Right Reserved

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2014 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (February 9, 2014) The University of Houston men’s basketball team jumped out to a 40-29 lead at halftime and continued to dominate a depleted Temple squad in the second half by downing the Owls 88-74 at Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas on Sunday afternoon, February 9, 2014.

The Cougars have an effective offensive presence on the court; with four players scoring in double figures.

TaShawn Thomas, who also tallied nine rebounds, connected for 25 points, while Jherrod Stiggers connected for 20, Danuel House adding 16 and Brandon Morris contributing 15.

The Owls took at four point lead at the 17:25 mark in the first half and that was the last time Temple was ever than close.

Temple, who only suited nine players for the game due to injuries, tried valiantly to keep pace, but with Houston head coach JamesDickey substituting players as will, the Owls quickly found themselves over-matched and outpaced.

Houston had a 21 point lead with just over three minute remaining in the half, but that lead quickly dwindled in the second half.

TaShawn Thomas (35) scored 25 points and pulled down
nine rebounds against Temple.
Photo by Darla S Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved

their season average of 50.5% in addition to scoring 22 points of the bench.

The major factor in the game was fast break points, with Houston connecting for 14 points as opposed to only tow for the Owls.

Teamwork was also a key factor for the Cougars, who tallied 22 assists.

For Temple, Dalton Pepper led all scorers with 17 points, followed by Anthony Lee and Quenton Decosey with 14 each.

Houston will now have six days to prepare to face their fourth nationally ranked opponent for 2013-2014 as they travel back east to play number seven ranked Cincinnati on February 15.

Danuel House scores 24 as Houston downs Texas State; 76-70

Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2013 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 10, 2013) Storming off to a five point lead at halftime, the Houston Cougars men’s basketball team furthered that lead to down the Texas State Bobcats 76-70 at Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas on Friday evening, November 8, 2013. 

Danuel House (shown left) and TaShawn Thomas accounted for 46 of the Cougars’ 76 points, connecting for 24 and 22 points respectively.

Thomas, the 2013 Conference USA Freshman of the Year, was 6-for-15 in two-point range and hit three from three point range.

He connected on nine of 15 tries from the free throw line.
 
Thomas connected on 10-for-15 from the field.

Houston was 52% from the floor on field goals and shot 67% from the free throw line.

L.J. Rose added 11 points, including two-three pointers on two tries.

Houston biggest lead was 12 points at the 11:27 mark in the second quarter.

In the paint, Houston scored 32 points and 13 points on offensive take-a-ways.

They added 10 second-chance points and two following fast breaks, with the bench accounting for 12 points.

Texas State was led by Emani Gant with 19 points, followed by Joel Wright with 18 and Phil Hawkins with 10.

With 22 seconds remaining in the game and the Cougars leading by three points, head coach James Dickey called time-out.

When asked, during the post-game meeting with the press, what is said to his team during the time out, Dickey responded:

“I wanted them to take their time and execute. We wanted to get it in. We wanted tp run motion, use clock and jam the ball inside. When we play through TaShawn (Thomas) or J.J. (Richardson) inside; good things happen. Either they’re going to get double, which is going to open it up for an easy inside out or they’re going to get a layup. All I wanted to tell them was to get the ball inside because we had taken a couple of threes and missed a layup down low. We hadn’t had good possessions so I wanted to make sure we had a good possession.”

With their first win in the American Conference under their belt, House was asked if the team felt new pressure associated with being in the new conference.

“We don’t feel any pressure. They voted us to finish sixth or seventh in the conference. Us moving, we’re not worried about that because the game of basketball stays the same. All we have to do is go out there willing to work.”

The Cougars will next face Texas-Pan American on the road at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 11 in Edinburg, Texas.