Dallas, TX (Sports Network) – Adam Brown came off the bench to rack up 22 points, as the Houston Cougars notched a 70-68 win over the SMU Mustangs in a Conference USA tilt at Moody Coliseum.
Alandise Harris posted a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Cougars (10-6, 2-1 C-USA), who knocked off 19th-ranked UCF in their last outing. Darian Thibodeaux scored 17 behind a 5-of-8 effort from the perimeter.
Papa Dia led all scorers with 23 points for SMU (10-7, 1-2), and he also grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked seven shots. Robert Nyakundi chipped in with 22 points, while Collin Mangrum scored 13 in the loss.
Houston led for most of the first half, but SMU put together a late spurt to take a 32-31 halftime lead.
The Cougars had the hot hand in the second stanza, as they knocked down 5-of-7 three-pointers and went 12-of-13 at the foul line. SMU’s Mike Walker had a look at a potential game-winning trey as time expired, but his heave was off the mark.
Houston buried 11-of-19 (57.9 percent) threes for the game, compared to a 6- of-21 effort from SMU.