Emanuel Sharp’s 3-point prowess powers No. 3 Houston past Utah
Emanuel Sharp made a career-high eight 3-pointers and scored 27 points to lead No. 3 Houston to a 66-52 victory over Utah on Tuesday in Salt Lake City.
Sharp shot 8-for-13 from long distance to help the Cougars (22-2, 10-1 Big 12) win their fifth straight game and move into a tie with No. 1 Arizona atop the Big 12 standings. He has made 277 3-pointers at Houston, passing Marcus Sasser (276) as the school's career leader in made 3-point field goals.
Sharp carried the Cougars on a night where no other Houston player scored in double figures. Leading scorer Kingston Flemings was held to four points on 2-of-9 shooting.
Keanu Dawes led Utah with 15 points and eight rebounds while Seydou Traore and Terrence Brown added 12 points apiece. The Utes (9-15, 1-10) committed 13 turnovers, leading to 20 Houston points, as they dropped their sixth game in a row.
Sharp gave Houston an early advantage with his hot outside shooting. He went 6 of 7 from 3-point range over the first 10-plus minutes to help the Cougars break open a close game.
Starting with Sharp's last outside basket of the first half, Houston went on a 10-0 run to grab a 33-18 lead. Milos Uzan helped fuel the run with a pair of layups. The Utes went nearly 5 1/2 minutes without a point until Don McHenry ended the drought with a layup.
Houston missed seven consecutive shots to end the half, scoring a single point over the final four minutes before halftime. The drought opened the door for Utah to cut the deficit to 34-25 going into the locker room.
The Cougars kept Utah from drawing any closer. They scored four baskets on their first four possessions after halftime to fuel a 14-4 run. Sharp punctuated the surge with a pair of 3-pointers, giving Houston a 48-29 lead.
Houston led by as many as 22 points in the second half, going up 55-33 on a dunk from Chris Cenac Jr. with 8:13 remaining.