Kingston Flemings poured in 23 points, nine of them in the final 2:11 of the game, as host No. 7 Houston rallied and then outlasted No. 14 Texas Tech, 69-65, on Tuesday in a key early-league clash between Big 12 heavyweights.
The Red Raiders led 55-49 after a Donovan Atwell 3-pointer with 8:25 remaining. Houston closed to within two points when Milos Uzan hit two free throws with 5:35 to play.
Flemings canned a jumper from beyond the arc at the top of the key to put the Cougars on top at 60-59 and, after a free throw by Texas Tech’s Lejuan Watts tied the game again at 60, hit a pullup jumper with 1:41 left to give Houston the lead for good. Flemings then finished off the Red Raiders with a 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining, allowing Houston (14-1, 2-0) to escape with the gritty victory.
Emanuel Sharp added 17 points for the Cougars, with Chris Cenac Jr. racking up 11 points and 11 rebounds and Joseph Tugler contributing 11 points and 10 rebounds. Houston has won eight straight games.
Jaylen Petty led Texas Tech (11-4, 1-1 Big 12) with 20 points, JT Toppin added 18 points and 11 rebounds and Atwell scored 13 points. The Red Raiders had a four-game winning streak snapped.
The contest was a slugfest from the jump. Toppin’s jumper at the 12:14 mark of the first half staked the Red Raiders to a 14-9 lead, but – as you would expect – Houston swung back, forging a 9-2 capped by a dunk by Cenac to go up 18-16 with 7:47 to play in the half.
The Cougars built their lead to 25-19 when Tugler converted a three-point play with 5:31 remaining before halftime. Texas Tech rallied, pulling even at 31 via a half-ending 12-6 surge that was punctuated when Petty drilled a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left in the half. Both teams had possessions in the final seconds but did not score.
Petty led all scorers in the first half with 14 points, while Sharp’s 11 points before halftime paced the Cougars. Houston outscored the Red Raiders 18-4 in the paint and forced seven turnovers which it turned into eight points in the first half but went scoreless over the final 2:17.
Houston stretched its lead to six on Tugler’s layup with 15:08 to play, but the Red Raiders responded with a 9-0 run capped by Toppin’s hook shot with 13:01 left to set the stage for the furious finish.
