Freshman reserve Chase McCarty scored a season-high 20 points, and seventh-ranked Houston rallied to an 82-75 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon to close out Big 12 regular-season play in Stillwater, Okla.
McCarty made 7 of 10 from the field, including a career-best 6 of 9 from deep — his final long one with 36 seconds left for a seven-point lead — and added four rebounds.
Kingston Flemings had 13 points, nine assists and five rebounds as the Cougars (26-5, 14-4) secured their second-place conference position.
Joseph Tugler totaled 12 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp had 11 points apiece as Houston ended conference play by splitting the final six contests.
The Cougars have won 44 consecutive games against unranked opponents.
Anthony Roy led the Cowboys (18-13, 6-12) with 18 points, while Kanye Clary had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. Jaylen Curry notched 13 points and six rebounds and Benjamin Ahmed scored 11.
Oklahoma State finished league play by dropping seven of nine games.
In the only meeting between the schools in the regular season, Houston scored the game’s first five points then went 1 for 7, but behind Roy’s six points and 3 for 4 shooting from distance, the Cowboys rallied with a 13-2 run in the first five minutes.
After Isaiah Coleman’s breakaway layup at 6:54, Oklahoma State’s advantage sat at 30-18 as it continued to click from long range, making half of its dozen attempts. Meanwhile, the Cougars went nearly five minutes without a basket.
After trailing by as many as 13, Houston’s Flemings, who had eight first-half points, made a mid-range jumper and McCarty canned a trey to trim the halftime deficit to 41-37.
Just inside the second half’s three-minute mark, Uzan sank a trey to knot it at 44, and he hit another with 14:35 left for Houston’s first lead since 5-4.
The visitors went on a 10-0 run, leading 73-64, that featured Sharp’s two free throws after Ahmed received a technical foul for trash talking.
Sharp hit a crucial deep ball with 1:21 left for a 77-73 lead, and McCarty drained his sixth three-pointer to seal the Houston’s victory.
–Field Level Media
