University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
LSU
Smith scores 22 To Lead Houston To An 81-72 Victory Over LSU
12/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2004
Houston, Texas - Lanny Smith, Andre Owens and Brian Latham combined for 53 points to lead the University of Houston men's basketball team to an 81-72 victory over LSU in Hofheinz Pavilion on Tuesday night, December 21.
The Cougars led 37-35 at halftime despite shooting just 31.7 percent from the field as Smith scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the opening period.
Then, Houston opened the second half with a 19-5 run to open up a 70-51 lead with 7:26 left to play. Andre Owens, who finished with 17 points, began the rally with a three-point field goal and also scored on a dunk after a steal by Latham. Latham, who added 14 points, scored eight points in the rally.
After Smith picked up his fourth foul with 4:16 left to play, the Tigers went on a 16-4 run of their own to close to within seven, 74-67. That was as close as LSU would get as the Cougars pulled away with the victory.
Houston's Ramon Dyer scored eight points, while Chris Lawson and Dwight Jones came off the bench to net seven points each.
The victory improves Houston's record to 8-3 this season and 5-0 in Hofheinz Pavilion for the first time since 1992-93 when the Cougars won their first six games. The Tigers lost their second straight game in a row and fell to 5-3.
Houston travels to Seattle, and plays at 12th-ranked Washington on Christmas Eve at 3:00 p.m., central.
