Dedan Thomas Jr. leads the way again as No. 10 UH beats Cal in Lake Tahoe Classic

Dedan Thomas Jr. had 20 points and eight assists as No. 10 Houston cruised to a 86-68 victory over Cal on Sunday night at the Caesars Lake Tahoe Classic in Stateline, Nev.

Thomas, a transfer point guard from LSU, was 9-of-15 from the floor to lead the Cougars in scoring for the second straight game. 

Joseph Tugler added 16 points and four blocks as the Cougars extended their winning streak against unranked opponents to 42 games. 

Guard Chendall Weaver scored six points and had three steals in 15 minutes in his season debut. Weaver, a transfer from Texas seeking a fifth year of eligibility, was granted a temporary restraining order by a Tarrant County district court on Nov. 4.

Weaver sparked UH’s early run with an electric 30-second stretch that included a dunk off a missed shot and converted a steal into a fastbreak dunk.

Forward Chase McCarty had three 3-pointers – including two in the game’s opening minutes – and 11 points in 12 minutes. McCarty was in the starting lineup after suffering a sprained left knee in the season-opening win against La Salle.

NO. 10 UH 86, CALIFORNIA 68

FGFTRebHOUSTONMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTSGillespie266-100-02-81213McCarty123-82-20-21011Tugler277-122-20-31416Miller322-74-41-2118D.Thomas359-151-10-28120Hadnot211-50-01-1122East163-31-21-5028Weaver153-50-03-6016Diané101-20-01-1212Jefferson50-00-00-0300Totals20035-6710-119-30181486

Percentages: FG .522, FT .909.

3-Point Goals: 6-16, .375 (McCarty 3-7, D.Thomas 1-1, East 1-1, Gillespie 1-3, Hadnot 0-1, Weaver 0-1, Miller 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: None.

Blocked Shots: 7 (Tugler 4, East 2, Diané).

Turnovers: 9 (Hadnot 2, Tugler 2, D.Thomas, Diané, East, Gillespie, Miller).

Steals: 14 (Miller 3, Weaver 3, D.Thomas 2, Jefferson 2, Tugler 2, Hadnot, McCarty).

Technical Fouls: None.

FGFTRebCALIFORNIAMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTSWilkins201-30-01-4012Yeanay163-91-21-2119Kocanas212-30-02-2244Indrusaitis302-51-20-4026Ross277-111-20-25215Cooper296-112-21-21019Carr160-20-02-6320Manyiel Dut150-22-20-0012Ali121-50-11-3213Ruff123-62-30-0118Daubaris30-00-00-0000Totals20025-579-148-25151568

Percentages: FG .439, FT .643.

3-Point Goals: 9-26, .346 (Cooper 5-8, Yeanay 2-4, Indrusaitis 1-3, Ali 1-5, Ross 0-1, Ruff 0-1, Carr 0-2, Wilkins 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 6. Team Turnovers: None.

Blocked Shots: 1 (Cooper).

Turnovers: 16 (Indrusaitis 4, Kocanas 3, Ross 3, Daubaris 2, Wilkins 2, Manyiel Dut, Yeanay).

Steals: 6 (Cooper 2, Ali, Indrusaitis, Manyiel Dut, Ross).

Technical Fouls: None.

Houston4343-86California3236-68

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The Cougars (2-0) led by 17 in the first half and pushed their lead to 23 on a few occasions in the second half.

Cal (2-1) trimmed the deficit to 13 on a layup by Jordan Ross with 8:04 remaining. 

Delrecco Gillespie added 13 points (6-of-10 shooting) and eight rebounds for the Cougars. UH has won its first two games by an average 28.5 points.

UH finished with seven blocked shots and 14 steals. 

Michael Cooper had five 3-pointers and led Cal with 19 points.

Joseph Duarte reported from Houston 

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This article originally published at Dedan Thomas Jr. leads the way again as No. 10 UH beats Cal in Lake Tahoe Classic.