UH senior guard Marcus Sasser records his second 20-point game of the season as the Cougars capture win number four on the season. | Sean Thomas/The Cougar
Stellar defense led the way once again for No. 3 UH as the Cougars finished out the Cougar Classic Wednesday night with a convincing 83-48 win over Texas Southern.
Neither team could get much going offensively in the first seven minutes, but a 3-pointer from junior guard Jamal Shead and then a nifty layup plus the foul from senior guard Marcus Sasser gave UH a 14-7 with under 12 minutes to go in the first half.
Quality play on both sides of the ball from freshman forward Jarace Walker helped the Cougars engineer a 16-7 run with Walker scoring four straight buckets including a three and a dunk to go with a steal and a block in the span. UH went up 36-18 with just over three minutes left in the first half.
UH entered the locker room with a dominant 43-20 lead as Sasser and Walker would lead all scorers with 15 and 13 points respectively, the second game in a row that Sasser combined with a teammate to outscore the opposing team in the second half.
The Cougars’ free throw shooting came up big in the first half going 10-11 as a team including 7-8 from Sasser.
Walker and junior forward J’Wan Roberts showed their chemistry at the beginning of the second half, finding each other for consecutive baskets early on as the Cougars led 53-28 with 15 minutes remaining.
After a 3-pointer from freshman guard Terrance Arceneaux off of another dish from Walker and then later a breakaway dunk from sophomore guard Ramon Walker Jr to make the score 77-39 would finish off Texas Southern and allow the Cougars to move to 4-0.
Sasser and Walker finished as the game’s leading scorers as Sasser would end with 20 points while Walker added 19 points on 9-11 shooting.
Both members of the Cougars’ starting backcourt would finish with six assists, with Sasser’s total being a season-high.
