COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Houston snaps four-game skid with 81-66 win over Tulsa

The University of Houston Cougars took a big step towards getting back on track Wednesday, January 27, 2016 by beating American Athletic Conference rival Tulsa 81-66. With the win, the Cougars' record improves to 14-6, 4-4 in the AAC. less The University of Houston Cougars took a big step towards getting back on track Wednesday, January 27, 2016 by beating American Athletic Conference rival Tulsa 81-66. With the win, the Cougars' record improves ... more Photo: Tony Gaines Photo: Tony Gaines Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Houston snaps four-game skid with 81-66 win over Tulsa 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

HOUSTON - The University of Houston Cougars snapped a four-game losing streak Wednesday, defeating American Athletic Conference opponent Tulsa 81-66 at Hofheinz Pavilion.

Houston freshman point guard Galen Robinson, Jr. - a local product out of Westbury Christian School - led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, connecting on three of his five attempts from deep.

Robinson also logged four assists and three rebounds in what was unequivocally his best game as a Cougar. After the game, Robinson suggested that returning to the style that made him successful in high school helped his team right the ship.

“The past couple of games, I got away from who I am, and that is a fast-paced point guard,” Robinson said. “So I had to get back to playing our brand of basketball, which is pushing the ball and getting open shots in transition, and just being aggressive.”

Robinson also spoke to the frustration of watching his past few games on film, knowing he could be performing at a higher level.

“I just came out tonight and just wanted to play aggressive,” Robinson said. “We’ve been watching film, and it was kind of embarrassing, because I’m being so passive, when I just could be making so much more happen for my team.”

Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson traced the turnaround effort, which snapped a four-game overall and two-game home losing streak, to that very film session, which helped calcify the issues plaguing this team through last few games.

“We came in and watched film as a team on Sunday, and when we left that meeting, we knew what we had to do, and that was push the pace,” Sampson said. “We’re no good slow. Because we attack man-to-man defenses pretty good, teams were starting to slow us down and make us play in the half court.”

Everyone on the Cougar squad benefitted from the renewed dedication to an up tempo style. Houston’s leading scorer Rob Gray, Jr., who headed into tonight the second-leading scorer in the conference, scored 16 points, doing most of his damage in transition. Senior forward Devonta Pollard notched a double-double with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 10 rebounds, a resurgence for a key Cougar player who has struggled in the past few contests.

“It’s such a long season, and you have to be able to adjust,” Sampson said. “You have to be able to figure out, what is it we need to do? And the only person who can figure that out is the coach.”

Starting with that film session on Sunday, and continuing through what Sampson said were the best two practices the Cougars have had all season Monday and Tuesday, things seem to be trending in the right direction.

“The good thing is, we figured it out,” Sampson said. “Tonight, from the get-go, as soon as that ball was tipped, we were on the balls of our feet running. This team is built to run.”

With the win, the Cougars’ record improves to 14-6, 4-4 in the American Athletic Conference. The victory was particularly significant because the Cougars managed to hand a loss to a team ahead of them in the conference standings, dropping Tulsa to 13-7, 5-3 in the conference. Sampson said after the game that he derived pride not just from the significance of the victory, but also from the mechanism.

“It was a good win, because Tulsa is a good team, but the thing I was most proud of tonight was how we won,” Sampson said. “We won playing the way we have to play.”

Houston will take to the road to face East Carolina Saturday, facing a 10-11 (2-6 in the AAC) East Carolina squad coming off a big win against Temple and hoping to move closer to the upper echelon of the conference.