University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
UAB
Houston Rallies Past UAB, 80-71
1/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2002
Birmingham, Ala. - Houston's starting backcourt of Dominic Smith and Kevin Gaines combined for 35 points and nine assists to lead the University of Houston to an 80-71 victory at UAB.
Smith led Houston with 20 points and handed out four assists, while Gaines netted 15 points and a team-high five assists. Patrick Okafor chipped in with 13 points and Louis Truscott tallied 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
In the first seven minutes of the game, UAB looked like they were going to put the Cougars away early as the Blazers jumped out to a 14-4 lead with 13:46 remaining in the first half.
But, Houston wine on a 7-0 run to get back into contention. First, Gaines passed the ball inside to Okafor for a jump shot in the middle of the lane. Then, Smith connected on his first three-point field goal of the night and George Williams, who finished with eight points and eight rebounds, scored on a driving lay-up from the left side to make the score 14-11 with 11:52 left in the opening period.
The scored remained close throughout the rest of the first half as Houston closed to within one, 35-34, with 24 seconds to go as Williams drove down the center of the lane for another lay-up. UAB's Morris Finley closed the first half with a jumper from the top of the key to extend UAB's lead to 37-34 at halftime.
It marked the second straight Conference USA game that Houston has trailed 37-34 at the half. The first time was on January 15, when the Cougars went on to win an 82-71 victory over TCU in Hofheinz Pavilion.
The Cougars opened the second half with a 7-0 run as Gaines hit a three-pointer from the left baseline corner on Houston's opening possession. Then Smith hit a jumper in the lane to give Houston its first lead and Williams added two free throws to give Houston a 41-37 lead with 18:18 remaining in the game.
Both teams exchanged leads three times during the next two minutes before the Cougars took the lead for good with a jumper by Marcus Oliver with 15:50 left to play to give UH a 47-45 advantage.
Smith passed to Patrick Okafor on Houston's next possession and made a jump shot from the free throw line to extend the Cougars' lead to 51-45 with 14:56 left to play. Houston never trailed again.
The victory moves Houston into a three-way tie for second place in the National Division at 3-2. The Cougars also improved their overall record to 10-7 and recorded their second C-USA road win of the season.
The 10 victories are the most for Houston's team since 1998-99 when Houston ended the season with 11 wins and the two C-USA road wins equal the most C-USA road wins in a season by a Cougar team since joining the league in 1996-97.
The only other time Houston has recorded two road wins was the 1998-99 campaign when the Cougars won back-to-back road contests at Memphis and South Florida.
This also marks the first time the Cougars have beaten UAB in Birmingham. Houston improved its series record to 2-10 with the other victory coming last year in Houston.
UH will play its next game against Southern Mississippi on Wednesday, January 23, in Hofheinz Pavilion at 7:30 p.m.
