UH tops Incarnate Word; Rice holds off St. Thomas

Wes VanBeck and Rob Gray scored 16 points apiece and led six players in double figures as Houston rolled to a 97-58 home win over Incarnate Word on Saturday night.

Fabian White Jr. added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Cougars (4-1). Corey Davis Jr. also had 14 points, and Devin Davis and Armoni Brooks had 10 apiece.

Houston took a 16-15 lead on a VanBeck layup six minutes into the first half and led the rest of the way, building to a 44-30 advantage at the break.

Simi Socks led the Cardinals (3-2) with 17 points and seven rebounds.

RICE 70, ST. THOMAS 59

A.J. Lapray scored 16 points with a careerhigh 10 rebounds, Miles Lester made a go-ahead free throw, and the Owls closed on a 23-6 run to hold off St. Thomas at Rice Fieldhouse.

Austin Meyer scored a career-high 14 off the bench, Bishop Mency grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds, and the Owls (2-4) outrebounded the Celts 47-31 and made 29 of 38 free throws.

Byron Makel scored 17 for the Celts (5-2), Flores added 12 and Kennard Robinson had 10.

MINNESOTA 89 ALABAMA 84

Nate Mason scored 20 points to lead the No. 14 Gophers over the 25thranked Crimson Tide, who finished the game with just three players, in the championship game of the Barclays Center Classic at New York.

Jordan Murphy scored 19 points for Minnesota (7-0). Collin Sexton had 40 points for the Crimson Tide, while Riley Norris had 13 and Galin Smith added 10.

The game was marred by a near brawl involving Minnesota’s Dupree McBrayer and Alabama’s Dazon Ingram in front of the Alabama bench 6:21 into the second half. Just 27 seconds earlier, Minnesota’s Nate Mason and Sexton were each assessed technical fouls.

During the fracas, Alabama players Donta Hall, Alex Reese, Daniel Giddens, Avery Johnson Jr. and Herbert Jones came off the bench and were ejected.

TEXAS CHRISTIAN 89 ST. BONAVENTURE 79

Jaylen Fisher scored 20 points to lead the undefeated Horned Frogs to the Emerald Coast Classic championship over the Bonnies at Niceville, Fla.

Five players scored in double figures for TCU (6-0). Kendrick Williams, who had 17 points and led TCU with 12 rebounds, was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.

MIAMI 86, N. FLORIDA 65

Bruce Brown and Anthony Lawrence scored 14 points each to lead the No. 11 Hurricanes over the Ospreys at Coral Gables, Fla.

TEXAS TECH 103 SAVANNAH ST. 69

Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver had 18 points and Zhaire Smith had 17 points on 7 of 8 shooting in a win at Lubbock.

Niem Stevenson also had 18 points for the Red Raiders (6-0).

SAM HOUSTON ST. 73 SANTA CLARA 59

Christopher Galbreath Jr. had 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists to help the Bearkats beat the Broncos in the seventh-place game of the Great Alaska Shootout at Anchorage, Alaska.

The Bearkats (3-3) built a 36-17 lead by halftime.