Balanced attack leads No. 14 Houston past Oklahoma St. 72-61

Updated Dec. 18, 2021 9:26 p.m. ET

Associated Press

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Jamal Shead scored 18 points, Fabian White had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 14 Houston beat Oklahoma State 72-61 on Saturday in the lone game of the scheduled Hoop Hype XL College Basketball Showcase doubleheader.

Marcus Sasser added 15 points and Kyler Edwards had 13 for the Cougars (10-2).

Bryce Williams led Oklahoma State (7-4) with 17 points, the only Cowboy to score in double figures.

Houston led 57-55 with 4:31 left in the second half before going on a 10-2 run. Eight points came from Shead, including both of his 3-pointers in the game.

Earlier, with the score tied 11-11 eight minutes in, Houston had a 10-point burst that included three consecutive 3-pointers by Edwards. That put him over 1,000 career points in his four-year college career — the first three seasons at Texas Tech.

With the Cougars leading 35-23, the Cowboys scored the final seven points of the half to pull within 35-30 at halftime. The streak began with a layup by Isaac Likekele and a tap-in by Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe off an assist by Likekele.

The scheduled game between No. 23 Colorado State and Tulsa was canceled because of COVID-19 issues within Colorado State’s team.

BIG PICTURE

Houston: Went into play ranked 10th in NCAA Division I scoring defense, allowing 56.4 points per game. It continued to by stingy on that end Saturday, as Oklahoma State shot 36.0% from the floor, 3 of 18 behind the arc.

Oklahoma State: Must do its offensive damage inside, given it shoots few 3-pointers and makes a small percentage (29.7% going into play). The Cowboys outscored the Cougars 19-10 on second-chance points.

UP NEXT:

Houston: Will close out its pre-conference schedule Wednesday at home against Texas State.

Oklahoma State: Playing USC on Tuesday in Oklahoma City’s Compete 4 Cause Classic before entering Big 12 play.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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