UH, TSU have success away from home
ESTERO, Fla. — Rob Gray scored 23 points, Damyean Dotson added 16, including four 3-pointers, and Houston cruised to a 93-56 win over George Mason in the opening round of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Monday night.
UH (2-0) hit 54 percent from the field, including 13-of-22 from long range, and had six players reach double figures. The Cougars will meet South Dakota on Tuesday night in the semifinals.
Wes VanBeck contributed 14 points, Danrad Knowles had 13, Devin Davis hauled in 10 rebounds to go with nine points, and Galen Robinson Jr. dished out 10 assists.
Trailing by four early, the Cougars quickly took control with a 13-2 run capped by Dotson’s 3-pointer and carried a 48-26 advantage into the break. Gray’s 3-pointer in the second half gave UH a 69-37 lead with 11:44 to play and the margin stayed above 30 points the rest of the way.
Marquise Moore led George Mason (1-3) with 15 points.
TEXAS SOUTHERN 67 JAMES MADISON 56
Dulani Robinson scored 17 points, had seven assists and six boards and Zach Lofton added 16 points to help lift the Tigers past the Dukes in the Hardwood Showcase at Harrisonburg, Va.
Derrick Griffin also contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds for TSU, which is 4-1 on its season-opening 16-game road trip. Three of the wins have some in the Hardwood Showcase, a six-team, non-bracketed tournament being played at campus sites.
On two occasions in the second half, James Madison got within four, 48-44 and 56-52. In the first instance. TSU responded with an 8-0 run and in the latter the Tigers went on a 9-4 run to close the game.
RICE 83, MONTANA ST. 78
Marcus Evans scored on a layup and knocked down 3-of-4 from the free-throw line, all in the final minute, as the Owls held off the Bobcats in the Hardwood Showcase at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Tyler Hall drilled a 3-pointer with 1:14 left to get the Bobcats within two, 77-75, but Evans answered with a layup to make it 79-75. With 20 seconds remaining Evans drew a foul and Montana State was whistled for a technical foul. Evans missed the first free throw and hit the next three to make it 81-75.
Evans was 6-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, to finish with 24 points for the Owls (3-1).
TCU 80, ILLINOIS ST. 71
Vladimir Brodziansky scored 11 straight points for the Horned Frogs late in the second half, and Jaylen Fisher hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer in the final minute as TCU defeated Illinois State at Fort Worth to make Jamie Dixon the only first-year coach in school history to start 4-0.