Field Level Media
Dec 23, 2018
Corey Davis Jr. scored 16 points, and Breaon Brady added 13 as No. 21 Houston cruised to an easy 75-44 win over visiting Coppin State on Sunday to roll into the Christmas break undefeated.
The Cougars are a hearty 12-0 after dominating the winless Eagles in the fourth game of a season-long seven-game homestand. Houston is off to the second-best start in school history, trailing only the 1967-68 squad's 31 straight wins to begin a season.
Houston led by 15 at the half and by just 45-31 after a pair of free throws by Coppin State's Nigel Marshall with 14:03 to play but was never threatened. The Cougars pushed their advantage to 64-36 on Cedric Alley Jr.'s 3-pointer with 7:33 to play and cruised from there.
Armoni Brooks scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds for the Cougars, who outshot Coppin State 43.1 percent to 21.5 percent, outrebounded the visitors from Baltimore 53-39 and had 39 points in the paint to just eight for the Eagles.
The win also extended the nation's second-longest home winning streak to 25 games.
The Eagles were led by Cedric Council's nine points while Lucian Brownlee scored eight for Coppin State (0-14). The Eagles made just 14 field goals -- seven each from in front of and beyond the arc -- and recorded just six assists.
The Cougars' defense was the difference in the first half, holding Coppin State to 8-of-33 shooting (24.2 percent) from the floor while building a 37-22 lead at the break. Houston hit on 48.4 percent from the floor and dominated the glass, outrebounding the Eagles 29-14 and surrendering no offensive rebounds.
Houston led from start to finish and by as many as 17 points at 37-20 in the waning seconds of the first half.
Davis paced all scorers with 11 points over the first 20 minutes, with Brady adding nine for the Cougars. Brownlee led Coppin State with six points, hitting two of the Eagles' five 3-pointers in the half.
Houston returns to the floor on Saturday to host the New Jersey Institute of Technology in its final nonconference game. Coppin State stays on the road for a game at Notre Dame, also on Saturday.
--Field Level Media