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Sports

Houston's Rob Gray Went Bonkers Against San Diego State, Dropping 39 Points

OK, fine he had zero assists. But that was an unreal game—NBA scouts clearly perked up.

Thirty-nine points would have been a pretty incredible night for Kevin Durant—and that's with 48 minutes in an NBA game. But in just 40 minutes of play in college ball, Houston's Rob Gray compounded a huge number of buckets into his game against San Diego State on Thursday night—totaling at 39 points, to be precise. It's almost as if no one else was on the court.

About that: one stat line that's just a little bit disconcerting is that Gray had a whopping zero assists on the night. Sure, that's not the best look, but he certainly proved he could strap a team on his back and carry them when it's most important.

The end of the game was wild, with Gray exchanging baskets with San Diego's Devin Watson, who drilled two 3-pointers in the final minute before Gray weaved through traffic and sealed the deal with a game-winning layup.

You can't help but tunnel back into Houston NCAA Tournament nostalgia—specifically to the 1967-68 season when Elvin Hayes led Houston to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament. (Hell, they haven't had a March Madness win since the end of Hakeem Olajuwon's glory days in 1984.) But the even crazier thing is that Gray's 39 points matched Hayes's record for most points in an NCAA Tournament in Wichita, Kansas—almost exactly 50 years ago to the day. (Technically, Friday.)

Seems like a pretty inane stat, but given that Hayes was on hand to witness the moment, it made for a pretty special night for both 72-year-old Hayes and the shaved-sides, goateed, man-bunned Gray.