Houston All-America guard Jamal Shead injures right ankle in Sweet 16 loss to Duke

DALLAS (AP) — Jamal Shead buried his head in his arms outside his locker as reporters walked away from their postgame interview with the Houston point guard.

The top-seeded Cougars were coming off a loss to Duke 54-51 in the Sweet 16 on Friday night, with Shead missing the final 26 minutes after the All-American sprained his right ankle.

“You say, well, who is your point guard to replace Jamal? said coach Kelvin Sampson. “We don’t have a leader to replace Jamal. We had guys go and rest him, but bring him back.

There was no return for Shead, nor a move to the Elite Eight for the third time in four years with the Cougars, which included a run to the Final Four when he was a freshman in 2021.

The Cougars’ fortunes changed dramatically with 6 1/2 minutes left in the first half when Shead planted his foot on a drive, turning it awkwardly as he chased the play and missed a contested layup.

In obvious pain, Shead fell to the ground under the basket, reached for his foot and then pulled his jersey up over his face. After being treated by an athletic trainer, Shead walked gingerly past the Houston bench and down the tunnel toward the locker room.

It was a different kind of pain as he rested his head on teammate Ja’Vier Francis’ left shoulder in a dark Houston locker room.

“I hate that it ended like this,” Shead said. “I wish I could have come back out there and at least been in the fight. It would have been different if I could have at least limped a little and fought a little. I just fought with them until the end. It didn’t happen that way. »

X-rays showed no fractures and Shead’s injury was diagnosed as a severe ankle sprain, CBS Sports reported.

The CBS halftime show showed video of Shead leaving the locker room, use a scooter with his right knee resting on it, and without a sock or shoe on the foot he injured, while using his left leg to move.

Shead spent the second half on the bench, a black warm-up top covering his jersey but still in shorts. There was no indication he would return.

After Emanuel Sharp’s 3-point attempt in the final seconds failed and fourth-seeded Duke went inbounds to run out the clock, Shead remained in his seat for a few minutes before limping off the floor towards the locker rooms.

“It doesn’t feel like a fair fight,” Sampson said. “You might have to take two to match one from Jamal. That’s how good he was. You don’t have another one. You don’t have the best defensive player in the Big 12. You don’t have a guy who made all the big shots at the end.

Shead had two points on 1-of-5 shooting with three assists and two steals while playing the first 13 minutes.

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AP Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins contributed to this report.

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