Houston continues home court dominance with decisive win against Toledo
With five players reaching double figures, including the leading scorer with a career high, Houston easily extended its home winning streak.
Terrance Arceneaux came off the bench to lead the way with 16 points as the Cougars rolled past Toledo, 78-49, Wednesday night at the Fertitta Center.
A redshirt sophomore guard, Arceneaux nearly had a double-double as he finished with nine rebounds. Another sophomore, forward Joseph Tugler, added 13 points for Houston, ranked No. 15 in this week's Associated Press poll and No. 12 in the USA Today coaches' poll.
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Junior guard Emanuel Sharp had all 13 of his points in the opening half for the Cougars (7-3). Another junior guard, Milos Uzan, and graduate guard Mylik Wilson each had 10 points.
With Wednesday’s win, Houston extended its home court winning streak to 28 straight, the best active streak in the nation.
The Cougars were also able to overcome an uncharacteristic off night for their leading scorer, guard LJ Cryer, who had just two points. They also were able to overcome a cold night beyond the arc, as Houston made just 4-of-24 shots from 3-point range.
But with players such as Arceneaux and Tugler picking up the slack, Houston still had minimal trouble with the Rockets. The Cougar defense was on point, though, holding Toledo to 29.6 percent from the field (16-of-54) as Houston led from start to finish.
They raced out to an early 22-5 lead and went on to a 39-22 halftime advantage. Houston also had 39 points in the second half.
In addition, Houston had 24 second-chance points compared to just three for the Rockets, and the Cougars also held a whopping 46-16 edge for points in the paint, along with a 50-29 edge in rebounding.
Sam Lewis had 14 points for Toledo (6-5), and was the lone Rocket in double figures.
Houston is at home again on Saturday to take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Tipoff is at 1 p.m., and it will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.
Following a break for Christmas, the Cougars then open up Big 12 Conference play on Dec. 30 at Oklahoma State.
