COLLEGE HOOPS: Houston falls to Connecticut at home

University of Houston junior guard Damyean Dotson scored 10 points against the University of Connecticut Huskies Sunday, January 17, 2016 at Hofheinz Pavilion in a 69-57 loss. University of Houston junior guard Damyean Dotson scored 10 points against the University of Connecticut Huskies Sunday, January 17, 2016 at Hofheinz Pavilion in a 69-57 loss. Photo: Tony Gaines Photo: Tony Gaines Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close COLLEGE HOOPS: Houston falls to Connecticut at home 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

HOUSTON - The University of Houston dropped its second straight American Athletic Conference game, losing to the University of Connecticut Huskies 69-57 Sunday afternoon at Hofheinz Pavilion.

For the first time since Louisiana State University - and probable NBA-lottery pick Ben Simmons - came to town, the Cougars were playing to a raucous, high-energy crowd. Houston gave the crowd plenty of reasons to cheer early, racking up a seven-point halftime lead 35-28.

Connecticut’s experience and poise took over in the second half, though, as the Huskies held Houston to 22 points on 29.6 percent shooting, outscoring them by 19.

Houston’s two leading scorers, sophomore guard Rob Gray, Jr. and senior forward Devonta Pollard, were held to four combined points in the second half, as they connected on only one of their combined 10 shots.

Connecticut fourth-year head coach Kevin Ollie felt better about his team even before the win, which improves the Huskies’ record to 12-5 (3-2 in AAC play), than he has all season, due to what he saw this week in practice.

“This is the best I’ve felt [about the team],” Ollie said. “But it was the best I’ve felt in practice, because our heart was in the right place these last two practices. I didn’t know what the scoreboard would say, but I knew our heart was in the right place going into it.”

Connecticut played for an AAC title last season, falling to Southern Methodist University in the championship round after knocking off South Florida, Cincinnati and Tulsa. Houston, in the midst of a reclamation project that features a number of new players stepping up in leadership roles, has not been tested to the same extent and head coach Kelvin Sampson suggested that played a role in the loss.

“Maybe we haven’t been through enough wars together, with as many new guys as we have,” Sampson said. “Sometimes when you get down, there’s a tendency to try to do too much. When we move the ball and the ball is shared, that’s when we’re at our best.”

Ollie had a simple defensive game plan headed into the match. He wanted his Huskies to shut down Gray, Jr. and Pollard, both AAC top-15 scorers with 17.7 points per game (first) and 13.7 points per game (13th), respectively. They combined for 17 points on 6-of-26 shooting, with Pollard missing all seven of his shot attempts.

Ollie praised the defensive effort he saw from senior forward Shonn Miller in holding Pollard without a basket.

“Shonn did a great job,” Ollie said. “We got him in foul trouble. Any time you can get him in foul trouble, you can kind of throw his rhythm off. [Pollard is] an outstanding player. That was one of our keys, that and slow down Gray, Jr. He had 12 the first half, and ended up with 15. Those were our keys, and we did that and followed the game plan, and it was a great win.”

After a Gray Jr. free-throw made it 54-53 Houston with 6:33 to play, Connecticut went on a 16-3 run to finish the game. Connecticut graduate transfer Sterling Gibbs keyed the run with two straight three-pointers and a pair of free throws, and Miller put the game away with two dunks, a layup and a jumper.

Houston junior guard Damyean Dotson, who finished with 10 points and led the team in rebounds with seven, agreed with Sampson that the Cougars might lack the cohesion that comes from being battle-tested as a unit in the crucible of high-level play.

“Like coach said, we haven’t been in enough wars together,” Dotson said. “When our backs were against the wall, after Gibbs made a couple of threes, I felt like everybody just started holding their heads down.”

The Cougars missed key opportunities earlier in the game that could have radically changed the complexion of the final minutes, hitting only seven of their 13 free throws and turning the ball over nine times.

“There’s certain intervals in the game where it’s really important you do two or three things well,” Sampson said. “One is free throws. You’ve got to make your free throws. That keeps them at bay. You can’t have empty possessions where you work it, get the ball inside and get fouled.”

The Cougars next travel to SMU Tuesday to take on the Mustangs, who are tops in the AAC at 17-0, 6-0 in conference play. Heading into a tough matchup, Sampson would have preferred to be 4-1 in the conference, but maintains perspective about his team’s progress.

“We’re not a dominant team,” Sampson said. “I don’t know who the best team in the country is, but it’s not us. We can lose games. But this was a game we could’ve won. And we have to figure out how to win it the next time.”