WVU

HOU

Preview not available

Cryer scores 20, No. 3 Houston stays unbeaten with 89-55 win over West Virginia

AP
Jan 06, 2024

HOUSTON (AP) L.J. Cryer scored 20 points, Damian Dunn added 14 points and No. 3 Houston improved to 14-0 with an 89-55 win over West Virginia in the Cougars’ inaugural Big 12 contest on Saturday.

Cryer scored 16 points in the first half on 6-of-7 shooting, including four 3-pointers, as Houston shot 58% as a team and took a 48-22 lead into halftime. Cryer has scored at least 20 points in five games this season.

“We focused on defense, and I felt like we were going to get out into transition and get easier shots,” Cryer said. “Just being locked in on defense will make you dialed in on offense. I felt like because I was defensive focused today that’s why the ball was going in.”

Ja’Vier Francis had 13 points and five rebounds, and Jamal Shead had eight points and 11 assists for Houston, which shot 53% overall, including 9 of 18 on 3-pointers.

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said the first Big 12 conference game didn’t feel any different to him.

“We wanted to win for sure, and there’s an excitement about playing our first conference game,” Sampson said. “Now we go play our second one. I don’t spend a lot of time with the hoopla stuff.”

Houston extended its home winning streak to 14 games. The Cougars improved to 14-0 for the third time in school history, joining the 1967-68 and 2018-19 teams.

The Cougars forced 12 turnovers and turned them into 14 points. Houston also had a 48-20 advantage in points in the paint.

“We had a really good plan against their zone,” Sampson said. “We knew exactly how we wanted to attack their man-to-man (defense), and then, when they went zone, we just flowed right into what we had worked on. Our kids are unselfish. Everybody understands their role, buys into it and accepts it. Our defense got us going early, and we fed off that.”

Patrick Suemnick had 12 points and five rebounds and Noah Farrakhan added nine points for West Virginia (5-9, 0-1 Big 12). The Mountaineers shot 32% and were 4 of 23 on 3-pointers.

RaeQuan Battle, who had led the Mountaineers with 27 points per game, finished with four points on 1-of-9 shooting.

“That was an impressive performance defensively,” West Virginia interim coach Josh Eilert said of Houston. “I thought we could maybe create some advantages in the game play, but they did a masterful job defensively in their game plan in terms of what they did to us and what they took us out of.”

BIG PICTURE

West Virginia: The 22 first half points were the fewest points the Mountaineers have scored in a first half this season and tied for the fewest points they have scored in any half this season.

Houston: J’Wan Roberts returned after missing the last game Dec. 30 against Penn with a knee injury. He scored nine points. … Entering Saturday, Houston joined No. 19 James Madison and No. 22 Mississippi as the only remaining undefeated teams.

UP NEXT

West Virginia: Hosts Kansas State on Tuesday.

Houston: Travels to Iowa State on Tuesday.

---

Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here.

---

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

1st Half
WV
Mountaineers
22
HOU
Cougars
48

Time		Play	Score
20:00		Akok Akok vs. Ja'Vier Francis (Jamal Shead gains possession)
19:47		J'wan Roberts misses two point jump shot
19:45		Akok Akok defensive rebound
19:31		Quinn Slazinski misses three point jump shot
19:29		Ja'Vier Francis defensive rebound
19:19	+2	Ja'Vier Francis makes two point dunk (Jamal Shead assists)	0-2
19:01		RaeQuan Battle misses two point jump shot
18:59		J'wan Roberts defensive rebound
18:46		RaeQuan Battle personal foul
18:35	+3	LJ Cryer makes three point jump shot	0-5
18:15		Ja'Vier Francis blocks Quinn Slazinski's two point jump shot
18:13		RaeQuan Battle offensive rebound
17:59		RaeQuan Battle misses three point jump shot
17:57		Ja'Vier Francis defensive rebound
17:48		J'wan Roberts misses two point jump shot
17:46		Quinn Slazinski defensive rebound
17:26	+2	Noah Farrakhan makes two point jump shot	2-5
16:59		Emanuel Sharp misses three point jump shot
16:42		Quinn Slazinski misses three point jump shot
16:40		Noah Farrakhan offensive rebound
16:35		Akok Akok misses two point layup
16:35		Jamal Shead defensive rebound
16:35		Noah Farrakhan personal foul
16:15		Jamal Shead misses three point jump shot
16:13		RaeQuan Battle defensive rebound
16:04	+2	Noah Farrakhan makes two point jump shot	4-5
15:40	+2	J'wan Roberts makes two point jump shot	4-7
15:21		Quinn Slazinski misses three point jump shot
15:19		Jamal Shead defensive rebound
15:11	+2	Jamal Shead makes two point dunk	4-9
14:45		RaeQuan Battle turnover (lost ball) (Emanuel Sharp steals)
14:41		RaeQuan Battle personal foul
14:41		TV timeout
14:24	+2	LJ Cryer makes two point jump shot (Damian Dunn assists)	4-11
14:06		Noah Farrakhan misses three point jump shot
14:04		Damian Dunn defensive rebound
14:04		Seth Wilson personal foul
13:44		Damian Dunn misses three point jump shot
13:42		Noah Farrakhan defensive rebound
13:13		Noah Farrakhan misses two point jump shot
13:11		Joseph Tugler defensive rebound
12:46		Jamal Shead misses two point jump shot
12:37		Jamal Shead offensive rebound
12:37		Jamal Shead misses two point layup
12:37		Noah Farrakhan defensive rebound
12:37	+3	Quinn Slazinski makes three point jump shot (Noah Farrakhan assists)	7-11
12:18	+3	LJ Cryer makes three point jump shot	7-14
11:56		Quinn Slazinski turnover (lost ball) (Joseph Tugler steals)
11:54		Joseph Tugler turnover (lost ball) (Patrick Suemnick steals)
11:54		TV timeout
11:41		Kerr Kriisa turnover (bad pass) (Joseph Tugler steals)
11:29	+2	Damian Dunn makes two point jump shot	7-16
11:03	+3	Akok Akok makes three point jump shot (Kerr Kriisa assists)	10-16
10:41		Akok Akok shooting foul (Damian Dunn draws the foul)
10:41	+1	Damian Dunn makes regular free throw 1 of 2	10-17
10:41	+1	Damian Dunn makes regular free throw 2 of 2	10-18
10:24		Kerr Kriisa turnover (bad pass) (LJ Cryer steals)
10:07	+2	LJ Cryer makes two point jump shot	10-20
9:50		Mylik Wilson personal foul
9:34		Seth Wilson misses three point jump shot
9:32		Mylik Wilson defensive rebound
9:20	+2	Emanuel Sharp makes two point layup	10-22
9:20		Seth Wilson shooting foul (Emanuel Sharp draws the foul)
9:20	+1	Emanuel Sharp makes regular free throw 1 of 1	10-23
9:15		J'wan Roberts personal foul
9:14		J'wan Roberts personal foul
8:52	+3	Kerr Kriisa makes three point jump shot (Akok Akok assists)	13-23
8:52	+2	Ramon Walker Jr. makes two point layup	13-25
8:44		Kobe Johnson misses two point layup
8:42		Ramon Walker Jr. defensive rebound
8:32		Mylik Wilson misses two point jump shot
8:30		Josiah Harris defensive rebound
8:21		Kerr Kriisa misses three point jump shot
8:19		Mountaineers offensive rebound
8:13		Jamal Shead blocks Josiah Harris's three point jump shot
8:11		Emanuel Sharp defensive rebound
7:54		Ja'Vier Francis turnover (traveling)
7:54		TV timeout
7:40		Quinn Slazinski misses three point jump shot
7:38		Emanuel Sharp defensive rebound
7:19		Ja'Vier Francis misses two point jump shot
7:17		Ja'Vier Francis offensive rebound
7:12	+2	Ja'Vier Francis makes two point layup	13-27
6:58		Damian Dunn personal foul
6:33		Kobe Johnson misses three point jump shot
6:33		Mountaineers offensive rebound
6:33		Mountaineers turnover (shot clock violation)
6:23		J'wan Roberts misses two point layup
6:21		Ja'Vier Francis offensive rebound
6:17	+2	Ja'Vier Francis makes two point layup	13-29
5:59		Noah Farrakhan misses two point jump shot
5:57		Patrick Suemnick offensive rebound
5:53	+2	Patrick Suemnick makes two point layup	15-29
5:33	+3	Emanuel Sharp makes three point jump shot (J'wan Roberts assists)	15-32
5:17		Ja'Vier Francis personal foul
5:05		Emanuel Sharp personal foul
5:02		Quinn Slazinski misses three point jump shot
4:59		LJ Cryer defensive rebound
4:39	+2	J'wan Roberts makes two point layup (Jamal Shead assists)	15-34
4:28		Noah Farrakhan misses two point jump shot
4:26		Emanuel Sharp defensive rebound
4:22	+2	Jamal Shead makes two point layup	15-36
4:22		Mountaineers 30 second timeout
4:02	+2	Noah Farrakhan makes two point jump shot	17-36
3:38		LJ Cryer misses three point jump shot
3:36		Emanuel Sharp offensive rebound
3:26	+2	J'wan Roberts makes two point layup (Jamal Shead assists)	17-38
3:05	+2	Quinn Slazinski makes two point layup	19-38
3:05		Joseph Tugler shooting foul (Quinn Slazinski draws the foul)
3:05	+1	Quinn Slazinski makes regular free throw 1 of 1	20-38
2:50		Joseph Tugler misses two point jump shot
2:48		Cougars offensive rebound
2:48		TV timeout
2:35	+2	Joseph Tugler makes two point dunk (Jamal Shead assists)	20-40
2:26		Emanuel Sharp personal foul
2:26	+1	Noah Farrakhan makes regular free throw 1 of 2	21-40
2:26		Noah Farrakhan misses regular free throw 2 of 2
2:26		Damian Dunn defensive rebound
2:12	+3	LJ Cryer makes three point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists)	21-43
1:54		RaeQuan Battle misses three point jump shot
1:54		Damian Dunn defensive rebound
1:54		Noah Farrakhan personal foul
1:54	+1	Damian Dunn makes regular free throw 1 of 2	21-44
1:54	+1	Damian Dunn makes regular free throw 2 of 2	21-45
1:41		Damian Dunn blocks RaeQuan Battle's two point layup
1:39		Joseph Tugler defensive rebound
1:22		Akok Akok blocks Joseph Tugler's two point dunk
1:20		Akok Akok defensive rebound
1:09		Jamal Shead blocks Quinn Slazinski's three point jump shot
1:07		J'wan Roberts defensive rebound
0:56		Damian Dunn misses two point layup
0:54		RaeQuan Battle defensive rebound
0:47		RaeQuan Battle misses two point jump shot
0:45		Jamal Shead defensive rebound
0:37	+3	LJ Cryer makes three point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists)	21-48
0:05		Seth Wilson misses two point jump shot
0:03		Akok Akok offensive rebound
0:03		Damian Dunn personal foul (Akok Akok draws the foul)
0:03	+1	Akok Akok makes regular free throw 1 of 2	22-48
0:03		Akok Akok misses regular free throw 2 of 2
0:03		Joseph Tugler defensive rebound
0:00		End of period

2nd Half
WV
Mountaineers
33
HOU
Cougars
41

Time		Play	Score
19:44		J'wan Roberts personal foul (Quinn Slazinski draws the foul)
19:30		Noah Farrakhan misses two point jump shot
19:28		Emanuel Sharp defensive rebound
19:07	+2	Ja'Vier Francis makes two point dunk (LJ Cryer assists)	22-50
19:07		Kerr Kriisa shooting foul (Ja'Vier Francis draws the foul)
19:07	+1	Ja'Vier Francis makes regular free throw 1 of 1	22-51
18:54		Ja'Vier Francis blocks Quinn Slazinski's two point layup
18:52		Mountaineers offensive rebound
18:47		LJ Cryer blocks Noah Farrakhan's two point jump shot
18:45		Emanuel Sharp defensive rebound
18:44		Noah Farrakhan personal foul (Emanuel Sharp draws the foul)
18:34		Akok Akok blocks LJ Cryer's two point layup
18:32		Seth Wilson defensive rebound
18:23	+2	Quinn Slazinski makes two point layup	24-51
18:04		J'wan Roberts misses two point layup
18:02		Akok Akok defensive rebound
17:49		Jamal Shead blocks Kerr Kriisa's three point jump shot
17:47		Ja'Vier Francis defensive rebound
17:37	+2	Emanuel Sharp makes two point driving layup	24-53
17:16		RaeQuan Battle misses two point jump shot
17:14		Akok Akok offensive rebound
17:06		RaeQuan Battle turnover (bad pass) (Emanuel Sharp steals)
16:55		LJ Cryer misses three point jump shot
16:53		Kerr Kriisa defensive rebound
16:38		J'wan Roberts shooting foul (Kerr Kriisa draws the foul)
16:38	+1	Kerr Kriisa makes regular free throw 1 of 2	25-53
16:38	+1	Kerr Kriisa makes regular free throw 2 of 2	26-53
16:21	+2	LJ Cryer makes two point floating jump shot	26-55
15:54		Patrick Suemnick misses two point jump shot
15:52		Ramon Walker Jr. defensive rebound
15:39		Jamal Shead misses two point jump shot
15:37		Jamal Shead offensive rebound
15:34	+2	Jamal Shead makes two point tip layup	26-57
15:21		Joseph Tugler shooting foul (RaeQuan Battle draws the foul)
15:21		TV timeout
15:21		RaeQuan Battle misses regular free throw 1 of 2
15:21	+1	RaeQuan Battle makes regular free throw 2 of 2	27-57
14:57		Damian Dunn misses three point jump shot
14:55		Joseph Tugler offensive rebound
14:55		Josiah Harris personal foul (Joseph Tugler draws the foul)
14:42		Patrick Suemnick shooting foul (LJ Cryer draws the foul)
14:42	+1	LJ Cryer makes regular free throw 1 of 2	27-58
14:42	+1	LJ Cryer makes regular free throw 2 of 2	27-59
14:29		RaeQuan Battle misses two point jump shot
14:27		Ramon Walker Jr. defensive rebound
14:17	+3	Damian Dunn makes three point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists)	27-62
13:54		Joseph Tugler personal foul (Kerr Kriisa draws the foul)
13:43		Kerr Kriisa turnover (bad pass) (Jamal Shead steals)
13:37	+2	Jamal Shead makes two point driving layup	27-64
13:18		Kobe Johnson misses three point jump shot
13:16		Patrick Suemnick offensive rebound
13:12		Patrick Suemnick misses two point layup
13:10		Joseph Tugler defensive rebound
13:03	+2	Joseph Tugler makes two point layup (Jamal Shead assists)	27-66
13:01		Mountaineers 30 second timeout
13:01		TV timeout
12:38	+2	Kerr Kriisa makes two point pullup jump shot	29-66
12:07	+2	Damian Dunn makes two point bank jump shot	29-68
11:47		Ramon Walker Jr. personal foul (Josiah Harris draws the foul)
11:47		TV timeout
11:45		Damian Dunn shooting foul (Josiah Harris draws the foul)
11:45	+1	Josiah Harris makes regular free throw 1 of 2	30-68
11:45	+1	Josiah Harris makes regular free throw 2 of 2	31-68
11:29		Ja'Vier Francis misses two point hook shot
11:27		Seth Wilson defensive rebound
11:21		Ja'Vier Francis shooting foul (Josiah Harris draws the foul)
11:21	+1	Josiah Harris makes regular free throw 1 of 2	32-68
11:21	+1	Josiah Harris makes regular free throw 2 of 2	33-68
11:10		Akok Akok blocks Mylik Wilson's two point layup
11:08		Seth Wilson defensive rebound
11:05		Emanuel Sharp shooting foul (Kobe Johnson draws the foul)
11:05	+1	Kobe Johnson makes regular free throw 1 of 2	34-68
11:05	+1	Kobe Johnson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	35-68
10:44		LJ Cryer misses three point jump shot
10:42		Emanuel Sharp offensive rebound
10:41		Noah Farrakhan personal foul (Emanuel Sharp draws the foul)
10:28	+2	Ja'Vier Francis makes two point layup	35-70
10:05		Akok Akok turnover (lost ball) (Emanuel Sharp steals)
9:44		J'wan Roberts misses three point jump shot
9:42		LJ Cryer offensive rebound
9:35		Akok Akok blocks LJ Cryer's two point layup
9:33		Patrick Suemnick defensive rebound
9:20		LJ Cryer personal foul (Seth Wilson draws the foul)
9:20	+1	Seth Wilson makes regular free throw 1 of 2	36-70
9:20	+1	Seth Wilson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	37-70
9:12		Emanuel Sharp turnover (lost ball) (Josiah Harris steals)
9:04	+2	Noah Farrakhan makes two point reverse layup (Kobe Johnson assists)	39-70
8:50		Jamal Shead misses two point jump shot
8:48		Josiah Harris defensive rebound
8:42		Josiah Harris turnover (lost ball) (LJ Cryer steals)
8:30		Cougars 30 second timeout
8:13		RaeQuan Battle shooting foul (Joseph Tugler draws the foul)
8:13	+1	Joseph Tugler makes regular free throw 1 of 2	39-71
8:13	+1	Joseph Tugler makes regular free throw 2 of 2	39-72
8:00		RaeQuan Battle misses three point jump shot
7:58		Josiah Harris offensive rebound
7:51	+3	Seth Wilson makes three point jump shot (Josiah Harris assists)	42-72
7:27		J'wan Roberts misses two point floating jump shot
7:25		Patrick Suemnick defensive rebound
7:18		RaeQuan Battle turnover (lost ball) (J'wan Roberts steals)
6:57		Emanuel Sharp turnover (bad pass)
6:40		Joseph Tugler shooting foul (RaeQuan Battle draws the foul)
6:40	+1	RaeQuan Battle makes regular free throw 1 of 2	43-72
6:40		RaeQuan Battle misses regular free throw 2 of 2
6:40		Patrick Suemnick offensive rebound
6:28	+2	Patrick Suemnick makes two point layup (RaeQuan Battle assists)	45-72
6:17	+2	Mylik Wilson makes two point driving layup	45-74
6:08		Noah Farrakhan misses two point jump shot
6:06		LJ Cryer defensive rebound
5:55		Patrick Suemnick shooting foul (J'wan Roberts draws the foul)
5:55	+1	J'wan Roberts makes regular free throw 1 of 2	45-75
5:55		J'wan Roberts misses regular free throw 2 of 2
5:55		Josiah Harris defensive rebound
5:44	+2	Patrick Suemnick makes two point layup (Noah Farrakhan assists)	47-75
5:25		Jamal Shead turnover (bad pass) (Noah Farrakhan steals)
5:18		Seth Wilson misses three point jump shot
5:16		J'wan Roberts defensive rebound
5:05	+2	J'wan Roberts makes two point cutting dunk (Jamal Shead assists)	47-77
4:34		Jamal Shead blocks Noah Farrakhan's three point jump shot
4:32		Mountaineers offensive rebound
4:31		Mountaineers turnover (shot clock violation)
4:31		TV timeout
4:15	+2	Ja'Vier Francis makes two point dunk (Jamal Shead assists)	47-79
3:56	+2	Patrick Suemnick makes two point dunk	49-79
3:37	+3	Damian Dunn makes three point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists)	49-82
3:20	+2	Patrick Suemnick makes two point floating jump shot (Kobe Johnson assists)	51-82
2:54		Mylik Wilson misses two point jump shot
2:52		Josiah Harris defensive rebound
2:46	+2	RaeQuan Battle makes two point dunk (Josiah Harris assists)	53-82
2:34		Cougars 30 second timeout
2:34		TV timeout
2:18		Damian Dunn misses three point jump shot
2:16		Mountaineers defensive rebound
1:46		Ofri Naveh misses three point jump shot
1:44		Ramon Walker Jr. defensive rebound
1:28		Josiah Harris personal foul (Mylik Wilson draws the foul)
1:28	+1	Mylik Wilson makes regular free throw 1 of 2	53-83
1:28		Mylik Wilson misses regular free throw 2 of 2
1:28		Ramon Walker Jr. offensive rebound
1:22	+3	Mylik Wilson makes three point jump shot (Ryan Elvin assists)	53-86
1:02	+2	Patrick Suemnick makes two point hook shot (Josiah Harris assists)	55-86
1:02		Cedric Lath shooting foul (Patrick Suemnick draws the foul)
1:02		Patrick Suemnick misses regular free throw 1 of 1
1:02		Jeremiah Bembry offensive rebound
0:55		Damian Dunn blocks Jeremiah Bembry's two point layup
0:53		Ryan Elvin defensive rebound
0:46	+3	Ramon Walker Jr. makes three point jump shot (Mylik Wilson assists)	55-89
0:39		Jeremiah Bembry turnover (lost ball) (Ramon Walker Jr. steals)
0:21		Ofri Naveh blocks Ryan Elvin's two point driving layup
0:19		Cougars offensive rebound
0:14		Ryan Elvin misses two point pullup jump shot
0:12		Josiah Harris defensive rebound
0:00		End of period

Josiah Harris defensive rebound