Armoni Brooks' career-high 24 points in Coogs' win over Prairie View

Posted: December 17, 2017 -- 7:52 pm CST.

HOUSTON, TX (H&PE Arena) -- The Houston Cougars and Prairie View A&M Panthers went back-and-forth for about 30 minutes Sunday afternoon before Houston's Armoni Brooks got hot from three-point land to help propel the Coogs to a 92-72 win over the Panthers.

Final stats: Houston Cougars 92, Prairie View A&M Panthers 72

Brooks sank four of his 6 career-high three-point shots in the second-half to help him score 18 points in the second stanza.

"Coach and my teammates always say that I’m a microwave scorer; so, if I hit one three, the next two or three will go in," Brooks said in the post-game press conference. "I might go through a little drought, but as soon as I hit another one it’s back on. They say once I hit one, there’s more to come. They really take pride in my ability to contribute to what my teammates give me."

Houston senior guard Rob Gray went to the bench with 4 fouls with 14:36 on the game clock. The Coogs trailed 53-52 at that point.

The Panthers led by 4 points twice (last 59-55) before Brooks and Galen Robinson Jr. provided a spark to the Houston team.

Brooks scored a layup to cut Houston's deficit to 59-57; then, Robinson Jr. tied the game with a driving layup.

Prairie View's Gary Blackston knocked down a jumper to put the Panthers ahead 62-61 with 11:13 on the clock.

Then, Armoni Brooks caught fire. Brooks sank a three-point shot at the 10:42 mark; then, Brooks swished another three-pointer at the 10:04; and, lastly, Brooks sank his third three-point bucket with 9:06 on the clock to give the Coogs a 70-62 lead.

Prairie View's Zachary Hamilton rattled in a 3 to cut the Coogs' lead to 70-65; but, Corey Davis Jr. split two free throws followed by a Devin Davis layup and a fourth three-point basket by Brooks for a 76-65 lead with 6:32 left in the game.

Houston's defense helped force the Panthers to miss 8 of their final 10 field goal attempts; and, the Coogs pulled away for the 20 point win.

"Another 20 point home win," said Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson after the game. "The way the game was setting up towards the stretch where we missed four free throws; and, they made four contested three pointers off of offensive rebounds was a little concerning. That is how you lose a basketball game. We were missing shots that were basically given to us and they were making tough three pointers.

"However, I am proud of the guys for hanging in there and fighting through it. I was impressed by Byron’s (Byron Scott, Prairie View A&M's head coach) leadership and how he had this team ready to play. He deserves a lot of credit. These coaches are using our win against Arkansas as motivation to beat us. They are coming ready to play and that is an advantage for them. We did some good things even though Rob received four fouls during the game. I wasn’t too concerned with it, because our plus minus when he is out is outstanding. We are able to play with more shooters on the floor with Galen is the distributor and Corey, Wes, and Armoni being the reason why we are able to consistently keep two shooters on the floor at all times. On nights when two or three of them are hot, we are tough to beat."

Houston led the Panthers 44-39 at halftime. The Coogs shot 53.6% (15 for 28) from the floor in the first half; but, Houston committed 14 turnovers while the Panthers committed 6 turnovers

In the second half, Houston only turned the ball over 5 times and shot 56.0% (14 for 25) from the floor. The Panthers committed 9 turnovers in the second half and shot only 38.5% (10 for 26) from the floor.

Houston shot 22 for 30 from the foul line while the Panthers shot 10 for 16.

Besides Brooks' 24 points, four other Coogs scored in double digits: Corey Davis Jr. scored 15; Rob Gray, 11; Devin Davis and Wes VanBeck each scored 10.

Prairie View was led by 18 points each from Zachary Hamilton and Dennis Jones. Troy Thompson chipped in 11 points.

With the win, Houston improves to 9-2. Prairie View is now 2-9.

Houston's next game is Wednesday, December 20, against Providence, at 6 p.m., in the Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.

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