#17/18 Men's Basketball Beats Butler in Big 12-Big East Battle

HOUSTON (AP) – Graduate guard L.J. Cryer scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, junior guard Emanuel Sharp added 16 points, and #17/18 University of Houston Men's Basketball program used a big second half to rout Butler 79-51 inside Fertitta Center on Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore guard Terrance Arceneaux had 14 points off the bench, and junior point guard Milos Uzan scored 13 points for Houston (5-3), which won its 26th straight at home, to tie with UConn for the nation's longest active home winning streak.

With the win, graduate forward J'Wan Roberts earned his 122^nd victory to become the winningest player in program history. The St. Thomas, V.I., native has posted a 122-22 record during his collegiate career and broke out of a tie with former forward Fabian White, who competed in 121 wins from 2017 to 2022.

Patrick McCaffery and Augusto Cassia had 11 points each to lead Butler (7-2), which had its six-game winning streak snapped.

The Cougars, who outrebounded Butler 41-22, shot 53% (32-of-60) and were 9-of-18 on 3-pointers. Houston shot 67%, including 7-of -11 on 3s, in the second half. Cryer, Sharp, Arceneaux and Uzan combined to score 47 of Houston's 51 points in the final 20 minutes.

Houston limited the Bulldogs to 28% (13-of-46) and were 9-of-28 (32.1%) on 3-pointers.

Takeaways
Butler: The Bulldogs had issues getting going on both ends of the floor. Butler, which entered ranked fifth nationally in field-goal percentage defense at 36.1%, had issues cooling Houston off, especially in the second half.

The Bulldogs, who entered shooting nearly 48% from the field and 42% on 3-pointers, were held well below those averages.

Houston: After dropping two out of three games in Las Vegas last week, the Cougars bounced back, especially on the defensive end. Houston improved to 5-0 this season when holding opponents to fewer than 70 points.

BIG 12-BIG EAST BATTLE
With Saturday's, the Cougars pulled the Big 12 Conference into a 5-5 tie with one game remaining in the 2024 Big 12-Big East Battle.

Oklahoma State faces Seton Hall in Newark, N.J., on Sunday morning to compete the season series.

UP NEXT
• Following Saturday's game, Houston continues its homestand when it plays host to Troy at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 10, inside Fertitta Center.
• That game will air on ESPN+
• From there, the Cougars will face Toledo in Fertitta Center at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 18.
• That game will air on ESPN+
• Houston closes its December homestand when it faces Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 1 p.m., Dec. 21, inside Fertitta Center.
• That game will air on CBS Sports Network.
• All Houston Men's Basketball games can be heard on 950 AM KPRC and the Varsity Network app.

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