HOUSTON — The No. 8 Houston Cougars showcased their strength on Wednesday night with an impressive 91-45 victory against Louisiana, buoyed by contributions off the bench. Terrance Arceneaux led the second unit with 14 points, while Milos Uzan followed closely with 13 points. In addition, Mercy Miller added 12 points from the bench, and both J’Wan Roberts and Emanuel Sharp chipped in with 11 points each. This decisive win came shortly after the Cougars faced a challenging loss to Auburn, where they fell 74-69 on Saturday.

At home, Houston continued their dominance with this victory, marking their 24th consecutive win. The team displayed solid shooting, hitting 45.6% from the field, including an impressive 10 of 23 from beyond the arc. They also significantly outperformed Louisiana on the boards, with a rebounding advantage of 46-28. For the Ragin’ Cajuns, Christian Wright was the leading scorer with eight points, while Chancellor White, Kentrell Garnett, and Kyndall Davis contributed seven points each. Louisiana struggled with their shooting, managing only 32.6% throughout the game.

One critical takeaway for Louisiana is their ongoing struggle against ranked teams, now enduring a 24-game losing streak in such contests. They started off the game seemingly strong, hitting 6 of their first 10 shots, but Houston’s superior size and defensive pressure proved overwhelming. The Ragin’ Cajuns faltered towards the end of the first half, missing nine of their last 11 attempts.

Houston, despite a slow start that saw them miss their initial six shots, relied on their strong defensive play to remain competitive early on. After finding their rhythm, they finished the half strong, connecting on 15 of their last 24 shots to take a commanding 51-25 lead at halftime.

A pivotal moment occurred when Houston was behind 10-6 with just 14 minutes to go in the first half. The Cougars launched a remarkable 20-5 run, seizing an 11-point lead. Sharp initiated this momentum shift, scoring seven consecutive points, while Miller contributed nine points during the surge.

Another significant statistic was Houston’s ability to create turnovers, forcing Louisiana into 23 mistakes and capitalizing with a substantial 27-3 advantage in points scored off those turnovers.

Looking ahead, Houston will face Hofstra on Friday, November 22, while Louisiana is set to host Rice on Tuesday for their next games.