Dedan Thomas Jr. scored 20 points, Joseph Tugler added 16 points and four blocked shots and the No. 10 Houston Cougars beat the California Golden Bears 86-68 on Sunday in Stateline, Nev.
Thomas recorded a game-high eight assists while Delrecco Gillespie (13 points, eight rebounds) and Chase McCarty (11 points, three 3-pointers) also scored in double figures for the Cougars (2-0). Houston shot 52.2% and led wire to wire.
The Cougars stretched an 11-point halftime lead to 67-44 at the 12:01 mark of the second half after Gillespie followed his 3-pointer with a driving layup.
But as they did in the first half, the Golden Bears (2-1) rallied behind Michael Cooper and Jordan Ross. Ross’ layup with 8:04 remaining cut the deficit to 71-58. Cooper finished with a team-high 19 points on 5-for-8 3-point shooting while Ross added 15 points and five assists.
The Cougars withstood the Golden Bears’ final charge with their defense. California shot 43.9% from the field and made just 9 of 26 3-point attempts. Guard Nojus Indrusaitis, who poured in 30 points in a home win over Radford last week, finished with six points on 2-for-5 shooting.
Tugler led the Cougars’ strong start with six points and three blocks by the first media timeout. Chendall Weaver capped a 10-1 run with a steal and transition dunk that pushed the Cougars’ lead to 22-11. McCarty added his third 3-pointer at the 10:08 mark of the half before Braden East hit a 3-pointer as the Cougars extended to a 33-16 lead, their largest of the first half.
But Cooper fueled a Golden Bears comeback, and his second 3-pointer during a 12-2 rally cut the deficit to 35-28. Late layups by Mercy Miller and Thomas allowed the Cougars to reclaim a double-digit advantage, and Houston led 43-32 at the intermission by converting 10 California turnovers into 18 points while limiting the Golden Bears to 5-for-14 shooting from behind the arc.