Marcus Sasser scored 19 of his 25 points in the first half to help No. 2 Houston steamroll visiting Tulsa 80-42 on Wednesday night in American Athletic Conference play.
Emanuel Sharp added 13 points before fouling out and Jamal Shead recorded a season-best 12 assists to go with seven rebounds as the Cougars (23-2, 11-1 AAC) won their fifth consecutive game. Houston led by as many as 41 while beating the Golden Hurricane for the 10th time in the past 12 meetings.
Tim Dalger scored 13 points and Sam Griffin added 11 for Tulsa (5-18, 1-11), which scored its fewest points of the season while losing its fifth straight contest and 12th in its last 13. The last five setbacks are by an average of 19.4 points.
Houston limited a foe to 50 or fewer points for the 10th time this season.
The Golden Hurricane established their previous season-low point total on Dec. 28 when they were routed 89-50 by Houston. Tulsa lost this season’s two regular-season games against the Cougars by an average of 38.5 points.
The Cougars made 46.3 percent of their shots — including 13 of 35 from 3-point range — and held a 53-27 rebounding edge. J’Wan Roberts collected 10 boards for Houston.
Tulsa shot 27.8 percent from the field and was just 4 of 29 (13.8 percent) from behind the arc.
Houston turned it into a one-sided contest with a 37-6 burst over a span of just less than 14 minutes.
Sasser opened the game with a 3-pointer and later went on a personal 12-0 run as the Cougars took the lead for good.
The Golden Hurricane led 10-7 before the explosion in which Sasser buried two 3-pointers as part of a five-basket run that gave Houston a 19-10 lead with 11:30 left in the first half.
Griffin scored for Tulsa before the Cougars ripped off 12 more consecutive points. Tramon Mark capped the surge with a trey to make it 31-12 with 6:09 remaining.
After Bryant Selebangue scored for Tulsa, Houston rattled off 13 more in a row. Terrance Arceneaux completed the run with a jumper to make it 44-16. The score was 46-18 at the break.
The Cougars moved their lead over 30 on two free throws by Sharp to make it 58-27 with 12:44 left in the contest.
The advantage was pushed over 40 when Sasser drained his fifth 3-pointer to make it 72-31 with 7:49 remaining in the game.
–Field Level Media
