HOUSTON (AP) Devonta Pollard scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Houston over Morgan State 72-57 on Saturday.
A slow start by both teams prompted an 8-7 Houston lead almost 5 minutes in, but an 8-1 run by the Cougars, including a dunk by Pollard, helped Houston build a 41-28 advantage at intermission.
Morgan State came out with a renewed vigor in the second half and cut its deficit to 10 points 7 minutes in. But Pollard's dunk with 11:45 left spurred another mini-run with LeRon Barnes nailing a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 16 with 11:08 left and Houston cruised from there.
Cavon Baker added 12 points and 10 boards for Houston. Eric Weary Jr. had 11 points and 8 rebounds while Jherrod Stiggers chipped in with 10 points.
Blake Bozeman led Morgan State with 18 points and the Bears were outrebounded 60-38.
