J’Wan Roberts finished with 20 points and eight rebounds and Jamal Shead added 16 points to rally No. 5 Houston past host Cincinnati 67-62 on Saturday in a Big 12 contest.
The Cougars (21-3, 8-3 Big 12) dominated in the paint, outscoring the Bearcats, 38-22.
Dan Skillings Jr. had 13 points and John Newman III chipped in with 10 points and 10 rebounds for Cincinnati (15-8, 4-6), which couldn’t find a way to hold onto a seven-point lead early in the second half.
Trailing 58-48 with 3:51 left, Simas Lukosius drained a trey that started Cincinnati on a 7-0 spurt in 45 seconds that brought the Bearcats within 58-55 with 2:36 left.
Two free throws from Jamille Reynolds with 1:41 left made it a two-point game at 61-59. LJ Cryer hit a runner with 1:13 left and Ja’Vier Francis slammed home a miss with 40 seconds left for a 65-59 Houston lead.
The Cougars were dominating the Bearcats for most of the first half. And when they weren’t outplaying the Bearcats, they were getting remarkably fortunate breaks.