Cougars get defensive push to survive Flashes’ upset bid

NO. 2 HOUSTON 49, KENT ST. 44

HOUSTON — Marcus Sasser scored 19 points, J’Wan Roberts added 11 points and 14 rebounds, and No. 2 Houston held on to beat Kent State 49-44 on Saturday and give itself an opportunity to take over the No. 1 ranking.

Sasser was 8 of 8 from the free-throw line to overcome a 5- of-16 shooting performance, including 1 of 10 on three-pointers. Houston (6-0) shot 32% from the floor and was 2 of 17 on three-pointers.

“That’s the first time all year someone has punched us in the mouth,” Houston Coach Kelvin Sampson said. “We’re used to punching other people in the mouth around here.”

Sampson, who won his 705th career game, has never had a team ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25.

“Sitting here with an opportunity, whether we are or not after today, who knows, I don’t know,” Sampson said. “Obviously, I’m happy for all the guys who came before us. North Carolina has been No. 1 more times than I’ve been alive, so it’s no big deal to them, but it should be a big deal to us.”

The Cougars’ defense carried them, holding the Golden Flashes to 24% shooting, including 6 of 29 from beyond the arc. Houston outrebounded Kent State 56-33 and held a 28-18 advantage in points in the paint.

“There was a really, really tough team on the floor today, but it just happened to be Coach (Rob) Senderoff’s team,” Sampson said. “I was proud of the win. I’m not going to throw it away, mind you. You can do whatever narratives you want. A month from now it’s going to count as a win. I’m proud of the way we kept fighting. We outrebounded that team by 23. Soft teams don’t do that. We play tough, too. Their defense kept pushing us out.”

After Malique Jacobs nailed a three-pointer with 1:05 left to give the Golden Flashes a 44-43 lead, Jamal Shead made a layup to put Houston back ahead with 48 seconds remaining. Jarace Walker blocked a layup by Sincere Carry with 34 seconds left, and Sasser made two free throws with 29 seconds remaining.

VonCameron Davis scored 14 points and Jacobs had 11 points for Kent State (5-2).

NO. 4 TEXAS 91, UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY 54

AUSTIN, Texas — Sir’Jabari Rice scored 19 points, Marcus Carr had 18 and Tyrese Hunter 17 to lead Texas over Texas Rio Grande Valley. The three guards combined to hit 20 of 36 field goal attempts, including nine three-pointers.

Texas (5-0) also received a boost from Dylan Disu, a 6-9 senior who had 10 rebounds, a career-tying 5 blocks, 4 assists, 3 steals and 6 points.

Justin Johnson led UTRGV (4-3) with 18 points. Will Johnston scored 10.

TCU 79, NO. 25 IOWA 66

NICEVILLE, Fla. — Micah Peavy scored 16 points and Mike Miles Jr. added 15 in his second game back from an injury to lead TCU over Iowa in the Emerald Coast Classic championship game.

Miles, the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

The Horned Frogs (5-1) broke open what had been a nip-and-tuck battle up until about three minutes into the second half, when TCU went on a 13-4 run to grab a 58-43 lead. Xavier Cork added 10 points.

TCU held Iowa’s Patrick McCaffery scoreless a day after he led the Hawkeyes (5-1) with 21 points in their semifinal win over Clemson. Tony Perkins and Ahron Ulis had 15 points each, and Kris Murray added 11.