Local Teams

Marcus Sasser scored a career-high 28 points and sank eight 3-pointers as No. 11 Houston ran away with a 71-50 victory against visiting Tulane in American Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon.

Sasser surpassed his season average of 14.9 points in the first half with 20 points, hitting all but one of his seven field goals from behind the arc. He finished 8 of 15 from 3-point range and 10 of 18 overall.

The first-place Cougars (10-1, 5-1 AAC) led by double digits the entire second half as the Green Wave (6-3, 1-3) struggled from the field.

After shooting just 34.8 percent in the first half, Tulane started the second half by missing 13 of its first 18 field-goal attempts and eventually fell behind 57-37. It finished the game shooting just 28.8 percent.

The Cougars took their biggest lead at 63-39 with 7:10 remaining.

The win stretched Houston's winning streak at home to 17 games. Their last defeat at home was to 61-55 loss to Oklahoma State on Dec. 19, 2019. They are 7-0 at home this season.

The Cougars play at South Florida on Thursday but are back home for the next three after that.

Jordan Walker led Tulane with 13 points, and Jaylen Forbes added 11.

Quentin Grimes also was in double figures for the Cougars with 11 of his 14 points coming in the second half.

The Cougars started the game with four turnovers in the first four minutes but soon regained their footing and owned their first double-digit lead, 28-18, on Sasser's layup with 5:45 left in the half.

They were up 34-21 three minutes later and went to the locker room with a 37-25 cushion.

--Field Level Media