Houston put together a strong finish and pulled away from Michigan for an 83-66 exhibition win on Oct. 25, moving to 2-0 in exhibition play.
The Cougars had to work through an early back-and-forth stretch before taking control for good. Junior center Moustapha Thiam opened the scoring for the Wolverines, and Houston answered with a three-pointer from sophomore guard Chase McCarty.
Senior forward Delrecco Gillespie helped Houston stretch the margin when he hit a three-pointer to make it 16-8 with 14 minutes left in the first half. Michigan hung around and trimmed the gap to 21-14 near the 12-minute mark, but Houston kept its grip and pushed the lead back to 10.
Michigan eventually erased Houston’s double-digit cushion and got within four with eight minutes left in the half. The game tightened even more when senior forward Joseph “JoJo” Tugler got into foul trouble and picked up a flagrant foul, giving the Wolverines a chance to capitalize without Houston’s top defensive presence on the floor.
That opening for Michigan turned into a short surge. Sophomore guard Trey McKenney pushed the Wolverines ahead 29-25, capping an 18-1 run over five minutes. Houston then went four minutes without a field goal before Gillespie stopped the drought with a free throw, and that sparked a five-point run that flipped the lead back.
Houston carried a 38-31 advantage into halftime, with senior guard Dedan Thomas Jr. leading the way with 11 points.
Michigan made things uncomfortable again to start the second half, cutting the margin to 40-36 as Houston managed only one point in that stretch. But once the Cougars settled in, they began to separate again, building the lead to 49-42 and then widening it to 64-49 with 10 minutes left.
By then, Michigan was in foul trouble too, sitting with eight fouls while Houston was in the bonus with 12 minutes remaining in the second half. From there, the Cougars kept applying pressure and closed out the game without much drama.
Thomas finished with 25 points to lead Houston, while Tugler, Gillespie and junior forward Braden East each grabbed six rebounds.
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Willie Fritz made clear afterward how much that mattered, especially for a unit that has leaned on Overmyer near the goal line. Houston now gets a bye week to regroup before the final four games of the season, and the extra time could matter as much for the tight end room as it does for the rest of an offense that suddenly has a new problem to solve. [Read more 🡒]
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The rough edges only piled up from there. Houston also had to adjust after Patrick Overmyer left after just six snaps, and a critical delay-of-game penalty on 3rd-and-3 stalled a key sequence before Weigmans late turnover helped swing the game away for good. Against a defense that was already punishing every mistake, the Cougars could not afford that kind of slippage. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Just Showed Fans What This New Roster Could Become
Houstons exhibition win over Michigan offered an early glimpse of how this new roster might fit together, and the early signs were encouraging. The Cougars controlled the game in an 83-66 victory, leaning on strong work in the paint and on the glass while getting a polished showing from senior transfer Thomas Jr., who paced the offense with 25 points and seven assists.
Delrecco Gillespie added 16 points and six rebounds, giving Houston another veteran presence in a game that felt like a useful barometer more than just a preseason tune-up. For a team trying to blend new pieces quickly, the bigger takeaway was how comfortably the Cougars imposed their style against a Big Ten opponent, even if the most intriguing details of Thomas Jr.s night are still part of the longer story. [Read more 🡒]