Marcus Sasser scored a season-high-tying 26 points as No. 15 Houston rolled to a 99-58 win at home over the Northwestern State Demons on Tuesday.
Sasser scored 23 points and drilled seven 3-pointers prior to the intermission to pace the Cougars to a 35-point halftime lead. It wasn’t until the final moments of the first half that Sasser scored from inside the arc, with his layup at the 14-second mark lifting Houston to a 58-22 lead. Taze Moore beat the buzzer with his second-chance basket for a 60-25 halftime advantage.
The Demons (1-7) fashioned a 14-7 rally out of the break, cutting the deficit to 67-39 on a Kendal Coleman layup at the 14:44 mark. The Cougars responded with a timeout and then followed with a 10-0 run that featured three dunks from Moore, another Sasser layup and a fast-break layup from Reggie Chaney keyed by a Demons turnover. The Cougars led 77-39.
Moore added 17 points for the Cougars (6-1) while Jamal Shead chipped in 12 points and nine assists. Tramon Mark and Kyler Edwards combined for 22 points and eight assists as the Cougars shot 54.3 percent from the floor and recorded assists on 27 of their 38 field goals.
Emareyon McDonald scored 17 points while making 3 of 6 3-pointers for the Demons. Coleman added 11 points and five rebounds for Northwestern State, doomed by 21 turnovers that Houston converted into 32 points. The Demons also posted a minus-20 rebound margin.
LaTerrance Reed sank a pullup jumper at the 5:46 mark of the first half that pulled the Demons to within 33-16. The Cougars responded with the knockout blow, a 16-0 run initiated by a Shead 3-pointer, two free throws and a dunk and concluded with three consecutive 3s from Sasser.
McDonald ended the Demons’ field-goal drought by nailing a 3-pointer with 56 seconds left in the half and he added another before the half concluded. But the Demons committed 14 first-half turnovers that Houston converted into 22 points to fuel the blowout.
–Field Level Media
