Jamal Shead scored a season-high 16 points while Taze Moore recorded his second career double-double as shorthanded Houston fended off visiting Louisiana 71-56 on Tuesday.
Shead added five rebounds and five assists and finished 7-for-7 from the free-throw line to help carry No. 14 Houston (9-2). Moore (14 points, 10 rebounds) helped shoulder the load in what was a collective effort from the Cougars, who were without leading scorer Marcus Sasser (foot) and key contributors Reggie Chaney (hand) and Tramon Mark (shoulder).
Josh Carlton added 17 points and nine rebounds, Fabian White Jr. paired 12 points with nine boards and Kyler Edwards chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds as Houston overcame 2-for-21 3-point shooting by outscoring Louisiana 46-18 on points in the paint.
Shead drilled a 3-pointer, just the second of the game for the Cougars, at the 17:10 mark of the second half to extend the Houston lead to 46-25. Shead snapped the Cajuns’ 7-0 burst with a three-point play with 15:25 remaining, but Louisiana had already snagged momentum by then.
With Kentrell Garnett sinking a pair of 3-pointers and Kobe Julien adding another, Louisiana produced a 17-7 rally that cut the Houston lead to 53-42. When Garnett hit another 3-pointer with 8:04 left, the Cajuns were within 57-50 on the strength of a 1-for-7 stretch from Houston.
Garnett scored 12 points for Louisiana (5-5). Jordan Brown led the team with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Hamstrung by their absences, the Cougars relied on defense and rebounding to build a 41-23 halftime lead. Houston tallied its eighth second-chance point when Carlton converted the Cougars’ 10th offensive rebound into a 25-15 lead. Houston closed the half with 12 second-chance points off 13 offensive rebounds, key factors in building the halftime lead despite the longest run of the half being just a 7-0 spurt.
The Cougars also scored 25 first-half points off 12 turnovers by Louisiana.
Houston shot 1 of 11 on 3-point attempts prior to the break, with Moore converting with 51 seconds left. However, the Cougars were 16 of 25 inside the arc prior to halftime, scoring 30 points in the paint.
–Field Level Media
