GAMEDAY Mens Basketball

Houston 71, Tulane 50

HOUSTON - Marcus Sasser scored 20 of his career-high 28 points in the first half to lead No. 11 Houston past Tulane 71-50.

Sasser shot 7 of 9, including 6 of 7 on 3-pointers, in the first half as the Cougars (10-1, 5-1 American Athletic Conference) built a 12-point halftime lead. Sasser finished with a career-high eight 3-pointers. Quentin Grimes scored 14 points.

Houston shot 44%, including 15 of 36 on 3-pointers. The Cougars outrebounded Tulane 48-26, which led to an 18-9 advantage in second-chance points.

Jordan Walker scored 13 points and Jaylen Forbes had 11 for Tulane (6-3, 1-3). The Green Wave shot 29%, including 6 of 19 on 3-pointers.

Houston used a 16-5 spurt to take a 34-21 lead on a layup by DeJon Jarreau with 2 ? minutes left in the first half. Sasser had eight points in the run.

Houston led 37-25 at the half.

The Cougars extended the lead to 43-27 on consecutive 3-pointers by Grimes with 16 minutes remaining and never let Tulane get closer than 12 the rest of the way.

Associated Press