Photo Gallery

HOUSTON, TX – No. 22 University of Houston used a 24-6 run after the halftime break to get past NJIT, 80-59, on Saturday at the brand-new Fertitta Center in Houston.
 
The Cougars (13-0) remained perfect for the year while running the nation's longest active, home winning streak to 26 contests. NJIT (11-3) saw its four-game winning streak snapped in its sixth all-time loss to a nationally ranked opponent.
 
Sophomore Zach Cooks led all scorers with 20 points while recording a team-high four assists. Senior Diande Wilson added 10 points and junior co-captain Shyquan Gibbs also chipped in 10. Senior Abdul Lewis recorded seven points with a team-high seven rebounds. 
 
Senior Corey Davis Jr. led Houston with 19 points. Other Cougars in double-figures in scoring were sophomore DeJon Jarreau (13), sophomore Brison Gresham (11) and junior Armoni Brooks (10).
 
The 22^nd-ranked team in the country did not enjoy getting beat out of the gates – especially with an undefeated season and a 25-game home winning streak on the line.
 
Down 18-8 early, the Cougars stormed back with 11 consecutive points to take their first lead of the game on a jumper by sophomore DeJon Jarreau with 6:53 to go in the first half. Houston surged ahead for good on an emphatic dunk by Gresham that put the Cougars up 23-22 with 3:48 left in the first stanza.
 
But where the Cougars really put the game away was in the beginning of the second half.
 
With a halftime lead of 27-23, Houston opened the second half on a 24-6 surge that featured eight points from Davis and another crowd-pleasing dunk by Gresham. When the surge slowed up, the Cougars had built a 51-29 lead with 11:14 remaining in the game. They would later salt the game away by building a game-high lead at 78-52 with 2:39 remaining.
 
Houston entered the game leading the American Athletic Conference in scoring defense and ranking sixth in the nation allowing just 58.0 points per game. After the Highlanders took the 18-8 lead on 7-for-13 early shooting, the Cougars clamped down to hold the Highlanders to 2-for-17 shooting over the final 12:21 of the first half. At one point, NJIT went empty on 13-straight attempts from beyond the arc.
 
In fact, the Highlanders shot just 13-for-48 from the floor after their game-high, 10-point lead. For the game, they finished 20-for-61 (32.8%) overall and 9-for-30 (30.0%) from deep.
 
The Cougars finished at 34-for-68 shooting (50.0%) and 7-for-24 (29.2%) from distance. Houston also held a huge rebounding advantage at 48-33, which it parlayed into a 46-14 advantage in points in the paint.
 
 The Highlanders came out of the games hot, riding eight early points from Cooks and seven from Wilson. NJIT built its lead up to a game-high 10 points, 18-8, on a Cooks triple at the 12:21 mark. However, the deficit stoked the home team – which followed with the aforementioned 11-0 run over the next 6:47.
 
The Highlanders return to action on Monday, when they finish their non-conference schedule with a road bout at Duquesne University. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the A.J. Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh, Pa
 
The all-time series between the Highlanders and Dukes is tied, 1-1. NJIT won the most recent matchup with an 84-81 win at the Palumbo Center on Nov. 29, 2014. Duquesne won the first-ever meeting, 71-64, on Jan. 29, 2014, at the Fleisher Athletic Center.