Recap: SMU vs. Houston

Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Joseph Young scored 17 points and dished out six assists to lead a balanced Cougars attack as Houston completed a huge rally to take down the SMU Mustangs for an 84-80 overtime victory in a Conference USA thriller at Moody Coliseum.

Jherrod Stiggers contributed 16 points off the bench for Houston (14-7, 3-5 C- USA), TaShawn Thomas tallied 15 points, and J.J. Thompson added 13. Danuel House also got into the mix as he went 6-of-6 at the charity stripe on his way to 10 points for the Cougars, who have now won two of their last three games.

Nick Russell and Jalen Jones finished with 22 and 21 points, respectively, as SMU (12-11, 2-6) lost for the fourth time in its last five outings. Ryan Manuel contributed a double-double of 15 points and 10 assists, while Shawn Williams added 13 points to the losing effort.

The Mustangs were in control early on and led by as many as 19 in the opening stanza before they went into halftime on top, 35-18. SMU shot 48.1 percent from the field including a 4-of-9 clip from 3-point range while limiting Houston to 33.3 percent shooting in the opening half.

The Cougars were a different team after the break as they hit 69.6 percent of their shots from the floor including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc while converting 15-of-16 at the charity stripe in the second stanza. SMU was unable to fend off the rally despite connecting on 45.8 percent of its field goal attempts in the period. House gave Houston a 56-55 lead at the 4:45 mark of the second half with a pair of made free throws. The Cougars held a three- point edge on the scoreboard just before the buzzer, but they allowed Williams to knock down a trey as time expired that tied the score at 71 and forced an extra session.

Stiggers drained a 3-pointer on Houston's first possession in overtime and the visitors held onto the lead for the remainder of game.

The Cougars received 21 points from their reserves while SMU's bench failed to register a single point.