1-seed Houston routs 16-seed Longwood, 86-46, in 1st round of 2024 NCAA Men's Tourney

Buy Houston Cougars Gear at Fanatics.com

POSTED: March 23, 2024 -- 10:43 a.m. CT

MEMPHIS, TN -- FedEx Forum

The Houston Cougars, the top-seed in the South Region, defeated the 16-seed Longwood Lancers 86-46 Friday night in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Men's Tournament.

Houston (31-4) scored the first 10 points of the game. Houston senior guard LJ Cryer knocked down two 3-pointers during the 10-0 start.

Longwood (21-14) committed 4 turnovers in the game's first 4 minutes.

With 12:44 on the clock, Houston's Ramon Walker Jr. checked into the game. Walker hadn't played in a game since February 19 versus Iowa State. He was out of action after injuring his knee in practice. Walker quickly made his presence felt with an offensive rebound and getting fouled to go to the free-throw line. Walker split the 2 free throws.

Houston led Longwood 14-4 when the Lancers scored 5 consecutive points to trim Houston's lead to just 5 points with 10:09 to go in the opening half.

Houston's Jamal Shead sank a 3 pointer then dished to big man Ja'Vier Francis for a slam dunk.

Next, Shead scored a driving layup before Cryer scored a put back layup for a 23-9 Houston lead with 7:34 on the clock.

After Longwood's Elijah Tucker sank 2 free throws, Houston's Damian Dunn scored 6 straight points to increase Houston's lead to 29-13 with 5:49 remaining in the half.

Houston extended its run to 14-3 the rest of the half and led Longwood 43-16 at halftime. Longwood committed 14 turnovers in the first half -- Houston scored 17 points off those turnovers.

"We started getting stops and were able to get run-outs and easier baskets," Shead said after the game. "And, we forced a lot of turnovers. We got a lot of good shots in that run. And we played to our culture during that whole stretch."

"We just let our defense lead to offense instead of just worrying about offense," Cryer added. "We locked down and forced turnovers and that led out to easier buckets."

Houston scored the first 3 points in the second half when Emanuel Sharp swished a three-pointer for his points in the ball game.

D'Avian Houston split 2 free throws for Longwood for a 46-17 Coogs' lead with 19:27 on the game clock. J'Wan Roberts answered with a jump hook in the paint 27 seconds later. Houston's lead did not get below 30 points the final 19 minutes of the game.

LJ Cryer and Damian Dunn each scored a game-high 17 points. Emanuel Sharp scored all of his 13 points in the second half. Jamal Shead scored 11 points and dished out 9 assists.

Houston shot 58.5 fg% (31 for 53) in the game including 66.7 fg% (16 for 24) in the second half.

"Our defense was really good," Kelvin Sampson, Houston Head Coach said in postgame. "We watched film on Longwood, winning their tournament, especially beating High Point at High Point is not easy. We had a lot of respect for them and we played accordingly.

"It's the NCAA Tournament. You don't take anything for granted. Our kids came in with the right attitude. Our best players approached it the right way and our team followed."

NEXT: Houston's next game will be Sunday, March 24, in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, against the Texas A&M Aggies. Tip is set for 7:40 pm CT on TNT.

SUPPORT The Houston Roundball Review:

Purchase your Coogs' gear at Fanatics.com via this link;

Get ESPN+ via this link;

Save when you get the Disney bundle (ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu) with this link;

OR, contribute via PayPal or the Cash App.

CLICK HERE for The HRR's write-ups of Coogs' men's hoops games.