FORT WORTH - Throughout the second half Friday night, DeJon Jarreau kept getting updates.
“You need two rebounds,” his University of Houston teammates would tell him. “You need this, you need that.”
Jarreau posted a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as second-seeded Houston overcame a cold-shooting start for a 77-52 victory over 10th-seeded Tulane in the American Athletic Conference quarterfinals at Dickies Arena.
UH (22-3) advanced to play Memphis in the semifinals on Saturday.
Jarreau, a senior guard, became the seventh player in UH history to post a triple-double and the first since Bo Outlaw in 1993.
“I always told him he was going to get a triple-double before he left here because he could,” coach Kelvin Sampson said. “There’s only one player on our team that can get a triple-double. The fact it happens very seldom in college tells you how special the guys are that do get them. DeJon is a special player.”
Jarreau’s across-the-board performance was the main reason the Cougars were able to survive a 5-of-20 3-point shooting performance that allowed the upset-minded Green Wave to hang around and only trail 33-29 at halftime.
“Even when Houston was struggling early, he made every play to keep them around until they could blow the game open,” Tulane coach Ron Hunter said. “He played like an All-American. He was special. If he plays that way, they are hard to beat.”
Ahead 40-36 early in the second half, the Cougars made their move thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by Quentin Grimes and another by Marcus Sasser that was part of a 20-6 run.
Sasser and Grimes combined to make five of six 3-pointers in the second half, with Jarreau assisting on three.
“I always love to see my teammates score,” Jarreau said. “Makes me feel like I scored.”
Jarreau had some work to do in the second half. He recorded six assists and five rebounds in the first half but had only two points. He had 13 points in the second half and grabbed the last part of his masterpiece, a rebound with 4:03 remaining. It was the first triple-double in AAC tournament history. Outlaw had 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against Texas A&M during his Southwest Conference Most Valuable Player season in 1993.
“That’s no easy team, to get (a triple-double) against because they don’t let you look good,” Sampson said. “Nobody looks great against Tulane. They just have a way of muddying the game up.”
Jarreau also was catalyst on defense, holding Tulane guard Jaylen Forbes to nine points on 9-of-12 shooting. Jarreau was named the AAC’s defensive player of the year earlier in the week.
After the slow start, UH erupted for 44 points and shot 60 percent in the second half. The nation’s top defensive team, the Cougars held the Green Wave to 23 points and 29.6-percent shooting, including 1-of-9 from 3-point range. UH also had a 23-11 rebounding advantage after halftime.
“I think Houston is a Final Four team,” said Hunter, whose team lost all three meetings against UH by double figures this season. “We battled. We don’t have enough right now, but we will one day.”
Sasser broke out of his late-season slump with 14 points, including four 3-pointers and Justin Gorham added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars. Grimes, the AAC’s co-player of the year, had 15 points and four rebounds.
“When we struggle our solution is usually to work harder,” Sampson said. “Marcus is too good of a shooter for it to last forever.”
Sampson always knew Jarreau could get a triple-double, something he remined him as they headed to the locker room after the game.
“I’m so happy for him because that’s going to be a memory,” Sampson said. “His unselfishness, his toughness, those are the things that show in triple-doubles.”
"triple" - Google News
March 13, 2021 at 09:04AM
https://ift.tt/3qGDWLi
DeJon Jarreau's triple-double powers UH's win over Tulane in AAC tournament - Houston Chronicle
"triple" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3dc0blF
https://ift.tt/2WoIFUS
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "DeJon Jarreau's triple-double powers UH's win over Tulane in AAC tournament - Houston Chronicle"
Post a Comment