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University of Houston
North Texas
Okafor Leads Cougars Over North Texas
12/2/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2001
Houston, Texas - Senior Patrick Okafor scored a season-high 23 points to lead the University of Houston to a 75-69 victory over North Texas Sunday afternoon in Hofheinz Pavilion.
The Cougars took command of the game early as Okafor and George Williams combined for 20 points in the first half to lead Houston to a 39-23 halftime lead. Okafor had 14 points and six rebounds in the opening half and Williams added six points and five assists.
"This was the best first half we have played this year," Houston head coach Ray McCallum said. "We got the ball inside, out spacing was good and we executed against their zone. I was pleased with the effort in the first half."
The Cougars shot 55 percent from the field and hit two of their three three-point shots. Dominic Smith made one of the treys and freshman Bryan Shelton was one of two from beyond the three-point arc.
Houston opened the second half much the same way they played in the first half as the Cougars hit their first seven field goal attempts and extended their lead to 57-41 with 12:02 left to play.
During that stretch, Okafor scored four points inside the paint, Williams tallied two more jumpers, Smith added three free throws and a layup and Shelton made another trey to account for Houston's scoring.
"But the second half, I felt we got overconfident and relaxed," McCallum said. "We didn't continue to attack. We pulled the ball out when we had lay-ups."
While Houston relaxed, North Texas stormed back into the game as junior guard Chris Davis nailed four of his five treys and was three-of four at the foul line down the stretch.
His last trey pulled the Mean Green to within 71-67 with 1:10 left to play.
"Chris Davis did a phenomenal job and hit some big shots," North Texas head coach Johnny Jones said. "Normally, I don't like to play like that, but we dug ourselves into a big hole and fortunately, he got the hot hand."
However, the Cougars made four of six free throws the rest of way and Davis missed his final two three-point attempts as Houston held on for a 75-69 victory.
In addition to Okafor's 23 points, Williams and Smith added 14 points and six assists each. Davis had a game-high 32 points and Jerome Rogers came off the bench to tally 17 points for North Texas.
The Cougars won their third straight game and improved to 3-2, while North Texas lost its third straight and fell to 1-3 on the season. Houston will play at Texas Southern on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.
