x
Breaking News
More () »

Brooks' 23 leads Houston past Oklahoma State, 63-53

The victory leaves the Cougars 8-0 for just the third time in school history and the first time since 1969-70.
Credit: Thomas Shea
Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson reacts after a Houston three point basket against the Oregon Ducks in the second half at Fertitta Center. Houston defeated Oregon 65-61. (Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports)

STILLWATER, Okla. — Armoni Brooks scored 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds to help lead Houston over Oklahoma State 63-53 Saturday night.

Brooks, the reigning American Athletic Conference Player of the Week, shot 7-of-13 from 3-point range, tying a career-high, while the Cougars (8-0) connected on 35.3 percent of their 3-pointers overall (12 for 34). Corey Davis Jr. added 14 points and seven rebounds for Houston.

Freshman Isaac Likekele scored a career-high 16 points and had four assists to lead Oklahoma State (4-5), which lost its third straight game. Thomas Dziagwa added 13 points and six rebounds for the Cowboys.

Likekele capped off a 10-0 Oklahoma State run with a 3-pointer from the left corner 2:32 into the second half to give the Cowboys a 37-36 advantage, but Houston responded with three consecutive 3-pointers of its own, two from Brooks, and never relinquished the lead again. The Cowboys pulled to within 47-45 on Lindy Waters' 3-pointer with 12:02 remaining, but that was as close as they would get.

The teams played twice a year while members of the Missouri Valley Conference, but this was their first meeting since the first round of the 1965 NCAA Tournament. The Cougars' win marks their first in Stillwater in nine tries.

BIG PICTURE

Houston: The victory leaves the Cougars 8-0 for just the third time in school history and the first time since 1969-70. Houston, which received votes in the latest AP poll, may very well sneak its way into the top 25 next week. The game represented a nice bounce-back performance by Davis, whose two previous games were his lowest-scoring of the season, including a season-low six points on 2-of-11 shooting Tuesday night in a 79-56 win over Lamar.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys' sub-.500 record may indicate that they have been struggling, but the team has endured a relatively difficult non-conference schedule to help prepare for Big 12 play. Included among their four losses are two that went down to the final seconds (66-64 against Charlotte on Nov. 10 and 74-71 against Tulsa on Wednesday), as well as a victory over then-No. 19 LSU on Nov. 25. Oklahoma State has also beaten College of Charleston and Memphis, while falling to Villanova and Minnesota. In this one, OSU kept it close throughout and didn't trail by double digits until another Brooks 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining made it 63-51.

UP NEXT

Houston: The Cougars return home, where they have won 21 straight contests, to begin a season-long seven-game homestand on Wednesday against LSU.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys have a week off before meeting Nebraska in a neutral site game on Dec. 16 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Before You Leave, Check This Out