Marcus Sasser had 26 points, five assists and four rebounds as No. 15 Houston cruised to a 79-46 victory over visiting Rice on Friday.
Kyler Edwards contributed 18 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Cougars (2-0), who held a commanding lead most of the way. Reggie Chaney added eight points and Jamal Shead chipped in seven points with four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Travis Evee had 11 points and three assists for the Owls. Cameron Sheffield scored 10 points, and Riley Abercrombie contributed 10 points in 14 minutes off the bench.
Rice (1-1) committed 20 turnovers, which the Cougars converted into 34 points. Houston had just seven turnovers.
The Cougars also had a 32-12 advantage in points in the paint. Rice was held to 28 percent shooting, missing 36 of the 50 field goals it attempted. Houston shot 41.8 percent.
Sasser piled up 16 points and four assists in the first half as the Cougars rolled to a 44-15 halftime lead. The Owls scored just five field goals while committed 13 turnovers, leading to 18 points for the Cougars.
A putback by Josh Carlton gave Houston its first double-digit lead at 16-5 with 11:55 left in the first half.
That basket was part of a 14-0 run by the Cougars. Carlton had six points during that span. A layup by Chaney made it 22-5.
A 9-0 run later in the half gave Houston a 27-point lead. Shead, Edwards and Sasser knocked down 3-pointers during the spurt.
Sasser’s 3-point shot less than two minutes into the second half increased the Cougars’ advantage to 30 points.
The margin remained above 30 points for the majority of the second half.
–Field Level Media
