#6/6 Men's Basketball Wins Slugfest at #13/13 Arizona

HOUSTON (AP) – Junior guard Milos Uzan scored 19 points, graduate guard L.J. Cryer added 15 and the #6/6 University of Houston Men's Basketball program took a 62-58 win over #13/13 Arizona inside the McKale Center on Saturday afternoon.

Coming off a 76-65 win at Baylor, the Cougars (21-4, 13-1 Big 12) trailed by seven midway through the second half but held the Wildcats without a field goal for more than six minutes to go up seven.

The Wildcats (17-8, 11-3) fought back within 59-58 with a minute left, but Houston hit 3-of-4 closing free throws to win for the 17th time in 18 games.

In addition to his scoring Saturday, Uzan has led the Cougar offense. During Houston's last four games and in his last 145:22 of play, the Las Vegas native has dished out 22 assists with only one turnover.

Uzan leads the Cougars and the Big 12 and ranks among the nation leaders with a 4.36 assist-turnover ratio (122 assists, 28 turnovers) this season.

The Cougars have the nation's longest active road winning streak at 11 straight and now lead Arizona by two games in the Big 12 Conference with #12/12 Texas Tech a half-game back of the Wildcats.

Caleb Love led Arizona with 17 points and seven assists but went 1-for-8 from 3-point range.

The Cougars and Wildcats went a combined 7-for-28 from the floor to open the game before Arizona used a 12-2 run to go up nine. Houston fought back with a short run of its own, pulling to within 30-25 by halftime.

Cryer had five points in the first half before hitting consecutive 3s to cap a 12-0 run that put Houston up 53-48.
Arizona shot 5 for 23 from 3-point range, including 1 of 9 in the second half.

NOTES
Houston: The Cougars love to grind out wins and pulled off a big one in one of college basketball's toughest road environments.

With Saturday's win, senior forward Ja'Vier Francis competed in the 100^th win over Houston career. He became only the sixth Cougar to reach that total, joining current teammate and graduate forward J'Wan Roberts (137-23), forward Fabian White Jr. (121, 2017-22), point guard Jamal Shead (120, 2020-24), forward Michael Young (109, 1980-84) and point guard Galen Robinson Jr. (103, 2015-19).

Arizona: The Wildcats nearly matched the Cougars on the defensive end, but they struggled offensively - 37% shooting, 11 turnovers - to lose their second straight.

UP NEXT
• Following Saturday's game, Houston continues its road swing out west when it meets Arizona State at 8 p.m. (CST), Tuesday, Feb. 18, inside Desert Financial Arena. That game will air on ESPN2.
• From there, Houston returns to Fertitta Center to play host to #10/10 Iowa State at 1 p.m., Saturday. That game will air on ESPN with John Schriffen and King McClure calling.
• The Cougars then meet #12/12 Texas Tech for the second time this season with an 8 p.m., Monday, Feb. 24, showdown inside United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. That game will air on ESPN.
• All Houston Men's Basketball games can be heard on 950 AM KPRC and the Varsity Network app.

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