Memphis scored 90 points against a team missing its top scorer . . . and lost by eight.
With Rob Gray Jr. in street clothes on the Houston bench, Devonta Pollard played Kobe Bryant tonight, hitting 14 of 24 field-goal attempts on his way to 34 points as the Cougars came from behind to beat the Tigers. Damyean Dotson added 21 points and helped Houston shoot 56 percent from the field. The win improves the Cougars to 17-7 and 7-5 in the American Athletic Conference. The Tigers’ downward spiral continues with a fifth loss in seven games, leaving the U of M with a 14-10 mark (5-6 in the AAC).
Memphis enjoyed an eight-point lead at halftime behind 16 points from Shaq Goodwin and 10 from Dedric Lawson. The Tigers led for more than 20 minutes of the contest before Houston took the lead on a pair of free throws by Dotson (following a technical foul called against Avery Woodson) with 5:08 to play. Memphis never regained the lead.
Goodwin finished with 24 points to lead the Tigers and Lawson added 20. Ricky Tarrant Jr. sat for much of the second half with four fouls and contributed only three points with no assists. Craig Randall started his second straight game and scored 10 points. Trahson Burrell scored 10 more off the Memphis bench.
The teams tallied the exact same number of field goals (33) and three-pointers (7), the difference coming at the free-throw line where Houston hit 25 of 32 (78 percent) while Memphis made 17 of 20 (85 percent).
The Tigers travel to Tulane for a Saturday matinee against the Green Wave. They return to FedExForum on February 17th to host UCF.
