Emanuel Sharp Breaks Houston Cougars Three-Point Record In Commanding Win Over Utah
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The Houston Cougars cruised to a 66-52 victory over the Utah Utes on Wednesday night, in Salt Lake City, Utah, thanks to a career night by senior guard Emanuel Sharp.
The veteran splashed eight three-pointers to surpass former guard Marcus Sasser for the all-time made threes record. He now sits at 277 made in his career.
With the win, Houston improves to 22-2 on the season and 10-1 in the Big 12 Conference standings.
Houston vs Utah Game Recap
The Cougars took care of business in their trip to Utah, going back home with two important road victories.
Sharp was the key for Houston’s success tonight as he finished with 27 points and he had yet another strong defensive performance.
He started the game off on fire with a quick 18 points on six made threes in the first half. He ended up getting his nightly total to eight made threes, which etched his name in the record books as the best three-point shooter to come to Houston.
While Sharp was on his A-game tonight, the rest of the team struggled to score, especially from behind the arc.
Outside of Sharp, the rest of the team shot just 1-for-13 from three, which will not be a recipe for success going forward.
With Utah showing a clear focus to double team freshman guard Kingston Flemings all night long, it put Houston in a tough spot, and the offense was sluggish compared to how they look most nights.
Senior guard Milos Uzan and junior forward Joseph Tugler followed Sharp in scoring, with the duo finishing with nine points each.
Tonight was an “ugly” win, but just as coach Kelvin Sampson always says, a win in this conference, especially on the road, is nothing to hang your head about because winning in the Big 12 is hard.
The focus for Houston now shifts to Kansas State. The two squads will battle it out on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 3 p.m., inside the Fertitta Center.
After that, the Cougars will have their toughest stretch of the season, which will have major implications in the Big 12 Conference Title race.
The Cougars will first go on the road to face No. 5 Iowa State, before returning to home to play No. 1 Arizona.
Houston will then face No. 9 Kansas on the road, who is currently one of the hottest teams in the country.
These are the games that will show Houston exactly what they need to improve on before March Madness, and the Cougars are right in the mix for their third-straight regular season conference title.
Ashton Grissom is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He is currently a senior at the University of Houston and majoring in Sports Media Production with a minor in Marketing and Spanish. He also works for two student organizations: The Cougar and CoogTV. You can find Grissom on his Instagram (@ashtonagrissom8) or Twitter (@ashtongrissom8).