Jarace Walker and Marcus Sasser scored 15 points apiece to lead five Houston players in double figures as the No. 3 Cougars rallied for a 70-61 victory over host Wichita State on Thursday.
Walker shot 6 of 15 from the field, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range, to go along with five rebounds. Sasser scored 13 second-half points and finished 4 of 12 from the field.
Houston’s Jamal Shead chipped in 13 points and a game-high seven assists, while Tramon Mark had 12 points and five rebounds.
J’Wan Roberts had 10 points and a team-high six rebounds for the Cougars, who won their third straight game and prevailed for the 12th time in the past 13 contests.
The Cougars (21-2, 9-1 American Athletic Conference), who trailed by six with 10:44 remaining, shot 25 of 56 (44.6 percent) from the field, including 7 of 20 (35 percent) from 3-point range.
Wichita State (11-11, 4-6), which has dropped two of its past three games, was led by Jaykwon Walton, who scored a career-high-tying 24 points before fouling out.
James Rojas added 15 points and seven rebounds, while Kenny Pohto finished with eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Wichita State.
The Shockers, who fell to the Cougars for the ninth time in the teams’ past 10 meetings, shot 21 of 54 (38.9 percent) from the floor, including 3 of 20 (15 percent) from beyond the arc.
Wichita State took a 50-44 lead on Craig Porter Jr.’s free throw with 10:44 left before Houston rallied. The Cougars responded with a decisive 13-4 run fueled by Walker’s three 3-pointers, with the last one giving Houston a 57-54 lead with 4:19 to go.
The Cougars extended their lead to 62-55 on Mark’s 3-pointer with 2:51 remaining.
After Wichita State took a 19-12 lead with 8:05 left in the first half, Houston closed the half on a 18-10 run to take a 30-29 halftime advantage.
–Field Level Media