View source for HOUSTON AP - Marcus Sasser Scored 25 Points And Had Five 3-pointers Emanuel Sharp Added 13 Points And No

<br>HOUSTON (AP) - Marcus Sasser scored 25 points and had five 3-pointers,  [https://blogbossbabe.com/ malware] Emanuel Sharp added 13 points and No. 2 Houston routed Tulsa 80-42 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight win.<br><br>Sasser scored 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting in the first half as the Cougars (23-2, 11-1 American Athletic Conference) built a 46-18 halftime lead. The senior guard had the first 12 points in a 24-2 run that gave Houston a 31-12 lead with six minutes remaining in the first half.<br><br>"Marcus plays the right way," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "We give our kids freedom to make plays, but the caveat is to make the right play."<br><br>Houston shot 46%, including 13 of 35 on 3-pointers. The Cougars outrebounded Tulsa 53-27 and owned a 31-4 advantage in bench points.<br><br>"Reggie (Chaney), Ja´Vier (Francis), Terrance (Arceneaux) and Emanuel, that´s our bench," Sampson said. "All four are good players. All four contribute and impact winning for us. Not every night. Last time I checked, they bleed and they breathe, so they are going to make mistakes, but I like the fact they are getting better."<br><br>Houston also beat Tulsa 89-50 on Dec. 28. After playing three games in six days, [https://www.thetimes.co.uk/search?source=nav-desktop&q=Houston Houston] now gets eight days off - their longest stretch of the season without a game.<br><br>"We´ve only lost two games, we probably should have lost some more," Sampson said. "We´re lucky to only have two losses. Teams don´t usually go 23-2, but again, losses never really bother me that much. Just like I don´t get overly carried away with wins. I do know the pulse of this team, and the thing this team really needs right now is rest."<br><br>Tim Dalger scored 13 points, and Sam Griffin added 11 points for Tulsa (5-18, 1-11).<br><br>"We played an elite basketball team tonight," Tulsa coach Eric Konkol said. "They´re absolutely a national title contender.<br><br>"I thought we did some nice things early. I thought our guys were prepared, and they were ready and came out with some good energy and execution, but it´s hard to withstand against a team like Houston. They've just got so many different weapons. They do it on both ends of the floor."<br><br>The Golden Hurricane has lost five straight and fell to 0-9 on the road this season. Tulsa struggled from the field shooting 28% and making 4 of 29 on 3-pointers.<br><br>BIG PICTURE<br><br>Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane´s last win over a team ranked in the top three was an 84-77 victory over No. 3 Louisville on Feb. 8, 1975. ... Tulsa started the game 5 of 10 from the field and ended the first half 2 of 18 as Houston went on the game-deciding run.<br><br>Houston: The Cougars have won four straight games over Tulsa. ... Houston improved to 10-0 in Quad 4 games. ... Houston dished out 21 assists on 31 field goals, led by Jamal Shead, who had 12 assists.<br><br>HE SAID IT<br><br>"We got a great lesson in what elite basketball looks like on both ends of the floor. I don´t think their sharing of the basketball gets enough notoriety. They share it extremely well. Shead with 12 assists. There´s some things we look at and say `Hey, let´s try to do some of these things better, and this is how it´s done.'" - Konkol on lessons learned from playing Houston.<br><br>UP NEXT<br><br>Tulsa: Plays at Central Florida on Saturday night.<br><br>Houston: Plays at SMU on Feb. 16.<br><br>___<br><br>AP college basketball: website and website and website scores 25, No. 2 Houston beats Tulsa 80-42<br><br>