Houston guard Kingston Flemings had a career night during the No. 10 Cougars’ 90-86 loss to the No. 11 Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday evening. Flemings erupted for 42.0 points on 57.7% shooting from the floor and 44.4% shooting from beyond the arc, two rebounds, and six assists in the tense Big 12 game.
Flemings was part of a trio of freshmen across the country who dropped 40 points on the same day, joining BYU Cougars star AJ Dybantsa (43 points) and Illinois Fighting Illini’s Keaton Wagler (46 points).
Kingston Flemings Reveals Astonishing Feelings After 40-Point Game
While speaking to reporters after the game, the Houston star, whose sister, Bella Flemings, also scored 40 points during her high school game on Friday, revealed how he felt about his 42-point eruption after speaking to his sibling.
“She congratulated me, I congratulated her,” Kingston Flemings said. “She won her game though, I lost mine. So, the 40 points don’t really matter because she won hers. We always try to compete every single game we play, me and my siblings, our parents have raised us the right way.”
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Bella is the No. 16-ranked player in the class of 2026 according to ESPN, and she has committed to the Duke Blue Devils.
Kelvin Sampson Bemoans Houston’s Loss Despite Flemings’ Hot Hand
Flemings set the Cougars’ freshman scoring record and became only the fifth freshman in Big 12 history to drop 40 points in a road game. In addition, he was the first Houston player to score 40 points since Rob McKiver managed 52 points in 2008.
During his postgame news conference, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson bemoaned his team’s loss despite Flemings’ career night.
“Kingston put us on his back and put us in position to win the game,” Sampson said. “We just didn’t do a very good job on the boards. Just his efficiency. He shot such a high percentage, and he missed some layups there toward the end. Of course, he was probably a little tired.”
“Toppin took 24 shots and Kingston took 26, but the game didn’t come down to either one of them. Kingston happened to be scoring … But we had enough guys that if Kingston wasn’t shooting, somebody else can score. We got a bunch of guys that can score. The game came down to one area and that’s where they were really good.”
Flemings is averaging 17.0 points on 52.6% shooting from the floor and 39.1% from beyond the arc, 3.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists for the Big 12 and national championship-contending Cougars.
