College basketball

No. 2 Houston edges out Kent State 49- 44 to stay undefeated

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 making just one of 10 3- point attempts. Houston ( 6- 0) shot 32% from the floor and was 2 of 17 on 3s.

No. 4 Texas 91, UTRGV 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 3- pointers. Texas ( 5- 0) also received a boost from Dylan Disu, a 6- foot- 9 senior who had 10 rebounds, a career- tying five blocks, four assists, three steals and six points.

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.

WOMEN No. 2 Stanford 87, Gramblingstate 50

HONOLULU>> Hannah Jump scored 11 of her 19 points before halftime and No. 2 Stanford eased past Grambling State 87- 50 on the second day of the Rainbow Wahine Showdown on Saturday.

The Cardinal ( 7- 1) never trailed and led the Tigers ( 1- 6) by as many as 39.

No. 7 Notre Dame 85, Arizona State 65

BIMINI, BAHAMAS >> Lauren Ebo scored 20 points, Sonia Citron added 15 and Notre Dame took control late in the third quarter to beat Arizona State in the Goombay Classic. The game was tied at 43 when Ebo stepped to the foul line with 3: 03 to play in the third quarter. Ebo made both shots and the Fighting Irish raced away.

No. 12 LSU 99, UAB 64

BIMINI, BAHAMAS>> Angel Reese had her seventh double- double, two teammates also had double- doubles and LSU cruised past UAB for its seventh straight easy win.

Reese had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Flau’jae Johnson 19 and 13, a careerhigh for the freshman, and Jasmine Carson 12 and 12, her first double- double, for the Tigers ( 7- 0), who won the tourney title.

No. 14 Maryland 81, Towson 70

FORT MYERS, FLA.>> Diamond Miller scored 20 points, Faith Masonius and Shyanne Sellers each added 14 and Maryland beat Towson.

Miller gave Maryland its first doubledigit lead on the first basket of the fourth quarter to make it 59- 49. Towson got as close as eight points from there, but Abby Meyers started a 6- 0 run as Maryland went back ahead by 10- plus for good.

No. 15 Arizona 86, San Diego 60

SAN DIEGO>> Helena Pueyo scored a careerhigh 22 points on 9- of- 12 shooting and Arizona rolled over San Diego to win the USD Thanksgiving Classic.

The senior from Spain hit all three of her 3- pointers and was 9 of 12 overall for the Wildcats ( 6- 0). Freshman Maya Nnaji made all seven of her shots to score a season- best 17 points off the bench.

No. 21 Baylor 75, No. 23 Villanova 70

ESTERO, FLA.>> Caitlin Bickle scored the last five points of the game, finishing with 18 and 12 rebounds, in Baylor’s win over Villanova in the Gulf Coast Showcase semifinals.

No. 22 Michigan 63, South Florida 58

ESTERO, FLA.>> Leigha Brown scored 14 of her 23 points in the second half, nine in the fourth quarter, to help Michigan turn back South Florida.

Arkansas 69, No. 25 Kansas State 53

ST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS>> Chrissy Carr scored 18 points and undefeated Arkansas rolled past previously unbeaten Kansas State to win the Paradise Jam Reef Division title.