3rd-ranked Houston tops Texas Southern 83-48

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POSTED: November 17, 2022 -- 8:40 a.m. CT

HOUSTON, TX -- (Fertitta Center)

The 3rd-ranked Houston Cougars defeated Third Ward neighbor Texas Southern 83-48 Wednesday night in the final game of the 2022 Cougar Classic to improve to 4-0 this season.

"Texas Southern, right around the corner, is a perennial NCAA Tournament team," Kelvin Sampson, Houston Head Coach said after the game. "They have a fantastic coach (TSU Head Coach Johnny Jones) who has big time experience."

Houston had 3 players score in double digits. Marcus Sasser stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Freshman forward Jarace Walker added 19 points (9 for 11 fgs) and 6 boards. J'Wan Roberts chipped in 10 points on 4 for 7 field goal shooting.

Texas Southern (1-4) trailed 8-7 when Houston guard Jamal Shead sank a three-point shot which began an 8-0 Houston run. Shead's 3 was his first three-point basket this season. Shead missed his first 10 three-point attempts this season.

Next, the Coogs went on a 23-9 run during a 7 minutes, 33 seconds span to increase its lead to 39-18 with 2:22 remaining in the opening half.

Jarace Walker scored 9 consecutive points during the run. Walker scored one layup, 2 dunks, and one three-pointer during his personal 9-0 blitz of the Tigers.

"Where Jarace is now compared to where he is going to be a month from now, two months from now, I think he's going to continue to blossom," Coach Sampson remarked.

"He's getting better and improving," Coach Sampson continued. "That's the big thing about freshmen."

Houston led Texas Southern 43-20 at halftime.

Texas Southern did not get closer than 19 points (45-26) in the second half; however, Tigers' freshman guard Zytarious Mortle showed he has a bright future with his strength and athleticism. Mortle finished the game with a team-high 15 points on 7 for 11 field goal shooting.

TSU Head Coach Johnny Jones said of Mortle's performance, "I thought Zy has been really good each game for us. He really played big tonight.

"I follow Coach Sampson and his program. I know what a great defensive team and how tough they are; and, for Zy to come into this type of environment, against a team of this magnitude - quite possibly the number 1 team in the country - to come in and make the plays that he did against such a great defensive team give us reasons to be excited."

Texas Southern held its own against Houston on the boards. Houston had a 34-31 rebounding edge in the game.

The Coogs outscored the Tigers 21-3 in points off turnovers and 50-24 in the paint. The Tigers' reserves - led by Mortle's 15 bench points - outscored Houston's reserves 26-22.

Sasser and Shead each had 6 assists in the win. The Coogs finished the game with 19 assists on 31 made baskets. Houston shot 51.7 fg% (31 for 60) while Texas Southern shot 36.7 fg% (18 for 49 from the floor).

"With our team, our best player is Marcus," Coach Sampson commented. "Our most valuable player is Jamal, and our most important player is, maybe, J'Wan."

2022 Cougar Classic All-Tournament Team

Most Valuable Player – Marcus Sasser, Houston

Tramon Mark, Houston

Jarace Walker, Houston

Davon Barnes, Texas Southern

Zytarious Mortle, Texas Southern

DeShang Weaver, Oral Roberts

Kareem Thompson, Oral Roberts

NEXT: The Coogs next game is Sunday, November 20, at Oregon. Tip is set for 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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Byron L. Riley, CPA; 832-303-3995; Do you need tax help? IRS Tax help available- Free Consult

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