Chase McCarty, Kingston Flemings, Chris Cenac Jr. and Mercy Miller scored 15 points each to lead a balanced offensive attack as No. 7 Houston swamped visiting New Orleans 99-57 on Saturday.
The Cougars (10-1) led by 25 points late in the first half and by 21 at halftime as they set the table for their runaway victory. Houston pushed its lead to as many as 46 points in the second half. The Cougars kept their collective foot on the accelerator while emptying their bench, winning their fourth game in a row after their lone loss to then-No. 17 Tennessee on Nov. 25.
Ten of the 11 players who saw the court for Houston scored at least four points as the Cougars outshot New Orleans 54.2% to 37.8% while hitting on 18 of their 25 shots (72%) after halftime. Milos Uzan dished out 10 assists to lead Houston.
The Privateers’ MJ Thomas led all scorers and rebounders with 17 points and eight boards but was the only New Orleans (3-8) player in double figures.
New Orleans trailed just 6-4 lead after a jumper by Thomas at the 16:29 mark of the first half, but Houston burst away with a 21-2 run that was punctuated by a second-chance 3-pointer by Isiah Harwell that made it 27-6 with 10:29 left in the half.
Houston stoked its lead to 37-12 when Cenac had a jumper and a free throw, the latter with 4:49 to play until halftime. New Orleans got to within 39-21 after a layup by Jamal Chretien II with 1:13 remaining.
The Cougars got a 3-pointer from Ramon Walker Jr. with 3 seconds left to build a 44-23 lead at the break.
Flemings led all scorers with 11 points before halftime while Thomas’ eight points paced the Privateers. Houston forced 13 turnovers that it turned into 23 points in the first half.
The Cougars opened the second half with a flurry, scoring 15 of the period’s first 19 points to build a 59-27 lead with 16:06 left. Emanuel Sharp had five points in the surge while Joseph Tugler and Cenac added four each as Houston put the game out of reach.
