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University of Houston
Memphis
Men's Hoops Drops One To Memphis, 77-66
1/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Chris Massie scored 22 points and grabbed 16 rebounds Wednesday night as Memphis snapped a two-game losing streak with a 77-66 victory over Houston.
Memphis (11-4, 2-2 Conference USA) shot 52 percent in the second half as the Tigers built a double-digit lead early and maintained the advantage.
Massie's 16 rebounds included eight offensive boards. John Grice added 18 for the Tigers, while Rodney Carney scored 14.
Houston (3-11, 1-2) was led by Andre Owens,who finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Louis Truscott added 20 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Jarrett Sidney finished with 10 points and four assists.
Memphis built its double-digit lead early in the second half on back-to-back 3-pointers by Carney, and maintained a 9- to 13-point lead through the first eight minutes of the half. The Tigers eventually would lead by as many as 16, 64-48, when Duane Erwin hit his only shot of the game with just over eight minutes left.
Owens led a valiant Cougar rally as he nailed a trey from the left wing, and Truscott hit a turnaround jumper off the glass to pull Houston to within 11.
Then, Sidney handed the ball off to Anwar Ferguson for a dunk and Cedrick Hensley added a lay-up, Owens hit another jumper from the baseline to pull the Cougars to within 65-59.
That was as close as Houston could get as Billy Richmond stole the ball and was awarded two points after Ferguson was called for goaltending. Then, Rodney Carney, who finished with 14 points, added a pair of free throws to give the Tigers a 69-59 lead with 2:54 left to play.
The Tigers never looked back and went on to win 77-66. The Cougars will play Southern Miss in Biloxi, Miss. at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 25.
