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Published Feb 26, 2021
Tops fall at 12th-ranked Houston, 81-57
WKU Athletics
WKUSports.com

HOUSTON, Texas — Costly turnovers and Houston's hot shooting were WKU Hilltopper Basketball's downfall in the second half of an 81-57 loss to the nationally ranked Cougars.

WKU (15-5) committed 20 turnovers which led to 27 Cougar points, and No. 12/10 Houston made 13 3-pointers with 33 points from star Quentin Grimes to improve to 19-3 overall.

The Cougars, ranked No. 6 nationally in the NET rankings, won their 23rd straight game in the Fertitta Center, which is the fourth-longest active streak in the nation.

"That's why Houston is one of the better teams in the country," WKU head coach Rick Stansbury said. "That's why you can't play 21, 22 minutes whatever it was when we took the lead, you've got to be able to play all 40 minutes in order to have a chance against them. … Probably the difference in the game, we had those live ball turnovers in that two-minute stretch. Once we go up, we go up one, there were four trips in a row where we had turnovers. Three of those four led to transition baskets. You've got no chance to win on the road against a lot of teams like that, but particularly a team like Houston."

After trailing by 12 in the first half, WKU used a 12-3 run to climb back within 34-31 with 3:59 remaining. A putback dunk by senior guard Josh Anderson and two free throws by senior guard Taveion Hollingsworth trimmed the Hilltoppers' halftime deficit to one at 39-38.

WKU momentarily reclaimed the lead early in the second half on two free throws by Hollingsworth, but Houston went on an 18-2 run to seize control. DeJon Jarreau's 3 made it 57-42 with 13:30 to play.

The Cougars reached their largest lead at the final score in the waning seconds.

"We were just careless with the ball and couldn't execute," Hollingsworth said. "We've just got to work in the gym, get back in the gym and practice. We've got to learn from our mistakes."

Houston got a huge effort from Grimes, the frontrunner for American Athletic Conference Player of the Year. The junior guard 21 of his 33 points in the first half and made 8 of 15 3-pointers.

Hollingsworth paced the Hilltoppers with 17 points, while redshirt senior guard Kenny Cooper and junior center Charles Bassey each had nine points. Bassey also had seven points and two blocks.

WKU returns to Conference USA play with a pair of home games against FIU, starting at 2 p.m. CT Sunday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

"They played well, they shot it well," Cooper said. "That's what makes them special. … If we want to be an NCAA team and make a run, that's the kind of team we have to beat. It's good to see a team like that late in the year and gauge yourself against them and figure out what we need to do next and what we need to do to get better. I feel like the only way this game hurts us is if we don't get better from it. The biggest thing is just taking away what we need to and getting ready for this final run."

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