East Carolina Pirates vs Houston Cougars Box Score on Jan 23, 2019

The No. 17 Houston Cougars made 16 3-pointers en route to a 94-50 dismantling of visiting East Carolina in the American Athletic Conference matchup on Wednesday night, rolling to their fourth consecutive victory.

The Cougars (19-1, 6-1 AAC) shot 66.7 percent from the 3-point line, making a mockery of the Pirates' 3-point defense, which entered the contest 11th in the nation.

The victory was Houston's 30th straight at home, the nation's longest active streak.

The Cougars led by 23 points at halftime and began the second half on a 16-0 run. The Pirates didn't score until the 14:29 mark of the second half.

Armoni Brooks led Houston with 17 points, followed by Nate Hinton with 13 off the bench. Five players finished in double figures for Houston, which pulled its starters with 11 minutes left.

The loss was the fourth in a row for East Carolina (8-10, 1-5).

Pirates standout freshman Jayden Gardner was held to eight points, all in the first half. Gardner entered the game as the AAC's leading scorer at 19.8 points per game, but he shot just 4-for-13 from the field.

The Cougars took a 49-26 lead into halftime on the strength of 11 3-pointers.

Houston started slowly (1-for-6 from the floor) and held a modest 21-15 lead with 8:26 left in the first half, but then the Cougars caught fire, outscoring the Pirates 13-0 over the next three minutes to open up a 34-15 lead.

Houston finished the half 11-for-15 from the 3-point line. Six players hit treys for the Cougars, with Brooks and Davis connecting on three each.

East Carolina, meanwhile, didn't hit its first 3-pointer until the 3:02 mark and finished the half 1-for-9. The Pirates shot just 38.7 percent from the floor in the first half and finished the game even worse, at 32.3 percent.

The Cougars travel to Tulsa on Sunday, and the Pirates return home to play host to South Florida on Saturday.

The Cougars and Pirates will meet again on Feb. 27 in Greenville, N.C.

--Field Level Media