University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Drop UAB, 80-71
1/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 19, 2002
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Dominic Smith scored 20 points and Kevin Gaines added 15 as Houston beat UAB 80-71 Saturday night.
Houston (10-7, 3-2 Conference USA) scored the first seven points of the second half and took the lead for good when Marcus Oliver's jump shot made it 47-45 with 13:45 left in the game.
The Cougars trailed UAB (8-10, 1-4) at halftime.
Houston went on to lead by as many as 11 points. Patrick Okafor had 13 points and eight rebounds and Louis Truscott had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Cougars.
Will Campbell scored 19 points to lead UAB. Eric Batchelor added 15 points, Myron Ransom had 12 and P. J. Arnold had 10 for the Blazers.
The Cougars took their first lead when Truscott scored inside to make it 30-28 with 2:30 left in the first half. But a 3-point shot by Arnold and a basket by Finley helped UAB reclaim the lead by halftime.
Morris Finley and Arnold each hit 3-point shots and Batchelor scored twice inside to give UAB to an early 14-4 lead. But Oliver came off the bench for Houston to score three consecutive baskets and cut into the Blazers' lead.
UAB entered the game with a 9-1 lead in the series and Houston had never won at UAB. But the Cougars, who lead Conference USA in field goal percentage, shot 51.9 percent from the field in winning its third straight game.
