Kingston Flemings poured in 27 points, Emanuel Sharp added 23 and No. 10 Houston went on to a 79-70 victory over TCU on Wednesday night at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Cougars (18-2, 6-1 Big 12) bounced back after falling at Texas Tech on Saturday. It was the third straight 20-point performance for Flemings, who scored 42 in the loss to Tech. Milos Uzan finished with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Chris Cenac Jr. had eight points and 14 rebounds for Houston.
TCU (13-8, 3-5) saw a brief two-game winning streak end. Xavier Edmonds scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and David Punch had 16 points and six assists to lead the Frogs.
Houston put itself in the driver’s seat midway through the first half, going on a 12-0 run to build an early 28-16 lead. The stretch started with a 3 by Cenac and closed on a 3 by Chase McCarty.
The Cougars had another 7-0 spurt late, taking a 43-30 lead into the break. They shot 61.5% from the field compared to the Frogs’ 40.7%.
Houston extended its lead to a game-high 45-30 with two free throws coming out of the break as TCU coach Jamie Dixon was called for a technical foul at the end of the first half.
However, the Frogs battled back with a 14-2 run, pulling to 49-46 on a layup by Tanner Toolson with just under 12 minutes left. TCU pulled to within 56-54 on a layup by Brock Harding a few minutes later.
The Cougars answered every time, never surrendering the lead. After Harding’s layup, Ramon Walker Jr. knocked down a 3-pointer that started an 8-0 spurt as Houston regained a 64-54 lead with 5:26 left.
The Cougars maintained a multiple possession lead down the stretch as they won their third straight over the Frogs.
Up next, Houston hosts Cincinnati on Saturday while TCU travels to Colorado on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
