Arizona went nearly five minutes without scoring and over six minutes without a field goal as Houston turned a 48-41 deficit into a 53-48 lead as the Cougars won 62-58 on Saturday. Houston shot the ball far better in the second half, as they had a 36-26 advantage in points in the paint.
After Houston shot 35.7 percent and made two of nine three-point shots in the first half, the Cougars made 50.0 percent of their shots and three of eight three-point shots in the second half. Arizona shot 37.0 percent and made five of their 23 three-point attempts but only made only one of nine in the second half.
Both coaches barely used their bench in the second half. Tommy Lloyd primarily played Carter Bryant, K.J. Lewis and Henri Veesaar off the bench in replace of starters Tobe Awaka, Anthony Dell'Orso and Trey Townsend in the second half. Caleb Love led Arizona with 17 points and seven assists and also had seven rebounds.
Lewis was the only other Arizona player in double figures with 13 points while tying for the team high with Bryant recording six rebounds. Milos Uzan scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half to lead Houston. L.J. Cryer scored 15. Arizona lost despite outrebounding Houston 39-30 and having a 29-11 edge in bench points.
Arizona, who entered the game 28th nationally, shooting 77.2 percent from the free throw line, missed four free throws in the final 5:01 that hindered the Wildcats chance to comeback. Lewis missed a three-point shot with 16 left that could have tied the game. J'Wan Roberts made a Free Throw to put Houston up 62-58 with 12 seconds left.
Arizona will travel to Baylor on Monday night, trying to prevent losing their third consecutive game. The loss drops Arizona to 17-8 overall and 11-3 in a second-place tie with Texas Tech in the Big XII. Iowa State is a game back at 9-4. The top four finishers in the Big XII earn a double-bye in the conference tournament.