J’Wan Roberts racked up 20 points and 12 rebounds to lift No. 2 Houston to a gritty 72-64 victory over visiting Memphis on Sunday afternoon in a key American Athletic Conference game.
The Cougars (25-2, 13-1 AAC) used a 17-3 run late in the first half to help build an 11-point lead at halftime, then outlasted an early second-half run by Memphis that cut the margin to four points. The Tigers later closed to within 63-58 on DeAndre Williams’ layup with 2:24 remaining, but Houston answered with free throws by Tramon Mark, Roberts and Marcus Sasser and held on to win its seventh straight game.
Sasser added 20 points and Jamal Shead had 10 for the Cougars. Houston could move back into the top spot in the AP poll for the third time this season because of its two wins this week and losses by top-ranked Alabama and No. 3 Purdue.
Elijah McCadden led the Tigers with 20 points while Williams had 18 points and Damaria Franklin added 10. Memphis (20-7, 10-4) played without leading scorer Kendric Davis because of an ankle injury.
No. 3 Purdue 82, Ohio State 55
Zach Edey recorded 26 points and 11 rebounds to help the Boilermakers get back on track with a victory over the Buckeyes in West Lafayette, Ind.
Edey recorded his 21st double-double of the season for Purdue (24-4, 13-4 Big Ten), which bounced back after losing consecutive games for the first time this season. Trey Kaufman-Renn recorded 11 points and three rebounds off the bench, and Purdue crushed Ohio State on the boards, holding a 44-21 advantage, including 14-5 on the offensive glass.
Brice Sensabaugh continued to be a bright spot for Ohio State (11-16, 3-13), finishing with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Sean McNeil came off the bench and scored 10 points.
No. 23 North Carolina State 77, North Carolina 69
Jarkel Joiner scored 29 points and helped spark a key spurt down the stretch as the Wolfpack dealt another blow to the Tar Heels’ postseason aspirations by winning in Raleigh, N.C.
D.J. Burns used a variety of low-post moves for 18 points, and Terquavion Smith and Casey Morsell both scored 12 points for NC State (21-7, 11-6 Atlantic Coast Conference), which avenged an earlier loss to North Carolina. Joiner scored on an acrobatic layup, a 3-pointer in transition and a jumper in North Carolina State’s late 9-0 run that created a 69-60 cushion with four minutes to play.
The Tar Heels (16-11, 8-8) have lost five of their last six games. Caleb Love’s 23 points and Armando Bacot’s 16 points and 14 rebounds led North Carolina.
–Field Level Media
