University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Memphis
Memphis Uses Balanced Attack To Beat Cougars 84-66
1/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2002
Houston, Texas - Freshman guard Dejuan Wagoner proved to be as good as advertised as he scored a game high 25 points to lead the Memphis Tigers to an 84-66 victory over Houston at Hofheinz Pavilion.
The Tigers took control of the game at the outset as the Tigers jumped out to an 18-8 lead with 10:58 left to play in the first half.
"I have to give Memphis credit because they came out ready to play and was able to get us down early," Houston head coach Ray McCallum said. "It seemed that whenever they needed to score, they were effective working the ball inside or shooting from the perimeter."
Memphis was red hot in the first half as the Tigers shot 52.5 percent from the field, hitting 21 of their 40 field goal attempts.
The Tigers also proved equally effective on the defensive end as Memphis held Houston to just 34.8 percent shooting in the first half and extended its lead to 49-25 at halftime. The 25 points were the fewest scored by the Cougars in a first half all season.
Houston did come out and play better in the second half as the Cougars outscored Memphis 41-35, and held the Tigers to just 32.4 percent shooting from the field
"But our play in the first half was too much to overcome," McCallum said. "We got too far behind to a good basketball team."
Louis Truscott recorded his ninth double-double of the season to lead the Cougars as he finished the game with 19 points and game-high 13 rebounds. Patrick Okafor added 18 points and seven rebounds, but they were the only Houston players to score in double figures.
The loss drops Houston's record to 11-8 overall and the Cougars remained tied with South Florida for second play in Conference USA's National Division at 4-3. The Tigers improved to 17-4 overall this season and are 7-0 in C-USA action to lead the National Division.
