University of Houston Athletics
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| Houston's Bernard Smith drives to the
basket. (Photo by Jeff Shaw) |
Kelly, who was ineligible during the fall semester because of poor grades, led all scorers. He hit 8-of-20 from the field and 4-of-4 free throws.
Maurice Evans and Chris Owens added 14 each for Texas (7-2).
Houston (2-6) was led by Dominic Smith with 14 points, Chad Hendrick with 13 and Marcus Oliver with 10.
Houston suffered from poor free throw shooting, hitting only 9-of-22.
Leading 43-41 with 14:21 left, Texas scored 10 straight to extend its lead to 53-41 with 11:34 remaining. But Houston then outscored Texas 9-2, including five by Hendrick, to cut the deficit to 58-54 with 6:02 left.
The Cougars were never that close again, as Kelly added six points in the final 2:54 to secure the victory.
A basket by Bernard Smith gave Houston a 9-7 lead with 14:11 left in the first half. Texas then scored seven straight, to move ahead 14-9 with 11:04 remaining in the half.
The Cougars cut their deficit to three, 26-23, after a driving layup by Dominic Smith with 3:02 left in the half.
Kelly then scored five straight to give the Longhorns a 31-23 advantage.
A pair of baskets by Houston's Marcus Oliver in the final minute of the half cut the Texas lead to 33-30.