HOUSTON (AP) — Ja’Vier Francis hit career highs of 17 points and 15 rebounds, Marcus Sasser scored 17 points and No. 5 Houston rebounded from his first loss with a 74-46 victory over North Carolina A&T Tuesday night.
Sasser, a preseason All-American, was 6 of 10 from the field after shooting 2 of 11 and scoring nine points in Houston’s 71-65 loss to Alabama on Saturday.
“It was a great feeling to see the ball go in,” Sasser said. “My main focus in this game was to play hard and try to bounce back and impact the game in different ways. I didn’t shoot well so that wasn’t really my main focus in this game. game. I just went out there and played hard and good things happened. The ball started going into the goal.
Francis was 7 of 10 as Houston (10-1) shot 50% on the night. Emanuel Sharp scored 10 points off the bench.
“I made a conscious effort that our biggest player on the bench was Ja’Vier, our first guard was Emanuel,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “…(Ja’Vier) is going to be good. He keeps getting better. His confidence grows. »
Kam Woods scored 26 points to lead the Aggies (4-5). Woods scored 17 of North Carolina A&T’s 21 points in the first half and finished 10 of 18 from the field. Demetric Horton added 11 points.
“It’s hard to score against Houston,” North Carolina A&T coach Phillip Shumpert said. “They do this to everyone. Incessant pressure. One of the toughest teams in the country. I told our guys that if we can get to that point where we play this hard for 40 minutes and our offense adds to that, we’ll be a successful basketball team.
The Cougars outscored North Carolina A&T 46-26, including 14-7 on the offensive boards. Houston held a 22-6 advantage in second-chance points and a 42-14 advantage in the paint.
Sampson was pleased with how his team bounced back from their loss.
“Whoever you play after a game like this, your biggest concern is getting your energy levels back,” Sampson said. “It was a quick turnaround, which is hard to do. Where it affects you the most is your legs because those kids are playing so hard.
The Aggies shot 29%, including 6 of 25 from 3-point range, at the end of their three-game winning streak.
Leading 19-16 with 8:49 remaining in the first half, Houston closed the half on a 17-5 run to extend their advantage to 36-21. Francis scored six points during the push.
“We couldn’t score,” Shumpert said. “Our defense wasn’t bad, but as we continued on this dry spell (to finish the first half), they slowly started to build their lead. … We couldn’t touch the basket.
BIG PICTURE
North Carolina A&T: The Aggies were playing their first game since Nov. 30, when they beat UNC Greensboro 73-56.
Houston: The Cougars are 25-1 after losing under Sampson since the 2017-18 season. … Houston got 40 points from his bench. … After committing four turnovers in the first three minutes, Houston calmed down and finished the half with seven gifts.
NEXT
North Carolina A&T: Takes on Texas Southern on Saturday at the HBCU Challenge in Las Vegas.
Houston: At No. 2 Virginia on Saturday.
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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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