No. 15 Houston had little trouble with Bryant Friday night, as the host Cougars routed the Bulldogs, 111-44.
Houston (7-1) had five players score in double figures and shot 62 percent from the field. The Cougars also shot 43.5 percent from the 3-point mark, hitting 10 of 23 attempts, and 81.3 percent from the free throw line.
Tramon Mark had a game-high 22 points, Josh Carlton had 17 and Fabian White Jr. added 16. Kyler Edwards totaled 12 points and 10 rebounds, and J’Wan Roberts grabbed 12 boards.
Bryant (3-5) entered the game off a 63-61 overtime loss to Dartmouth, its previous lowest point total of the season. Chris Childs led the Bulldogs with 13 points, and Charles Pride scored only two points on 1-for-10 shooting, well below his 14.9 scoring average entering the game.
Bryant shot 27.4 percent from the floor and 18.2 from beyond the arc.
Houston stormed out to a 12-4 lead in the game’s first four minutes, and the Cougars never lost their momentum in the opening half. White’s jumper gave the Cougars their biggest advantage in the early going with a 20-5 advantage with 13:33 left before halftime.
Houston later matched their largest lead on Roberts’ jumper in the paint that gave them a 31-16 cushion with 7:54 left before halftime. Consecutive dunks by Taze Moore and Jamal Shead increased the margin to 35-16.
Mark’s jumper pushed the lead to 20 with just over four minutes left, and it looked like Houston was ready to pull away. Bryant struggled, making just six of its 27 shots in the first half for a dismal 25.9 percent from the field.
Leading 52-21 at halftime, Houston continued its offensive assault with a 32-10 run that ballooned the lead to 84-31. Marcus Sasser hit a pair of 3-pointers during the stretch.
The Cougars blew it open down the stretch and led by as many as 70 points late in the game.
Houston bested its previous largest margin of victory this season, which came last game in a 99-58 victory over Northwestern State.
–Field Level Media
