No. 1 Houston pulls away from Wichita State, 83-66

HOUSTON (AP) - Jamal Shead scored a career-high 25 points, Marcus Sasser added 22 and No. 1 Houston defeated Wichita State 83-66 on Thursday night.

Shead shot 10 of 17 from the field. The junior was 4 of 8 on 3-pointers.

Jarace Walker had 13 points and nine rebounds for Houston (28-2, 16-1 American Athletic Conference). The Cougars shot 47%, including 9 of 25 on 3s, in winning their 10th straight game.

Houston forced 20 turnovers, which it converted into 17 points.

“They did a good job,” Wichita State coach Isaac Brown said of the Cougars. “They ambushed the low post. They pressure you hard. They did a good job of turning us over. Twenty turnovers are way too many.”

Craig Porter Jr. had 17 points and seven rebounds, Jaron Pierre Jr. added 16 points and Kenny Pohto had 12 for Wichita State (15-14, 8-9).

The Shockers lost despite shooting 65% (24 of 37) from the field. They were worse at the foul line, making only 12 of 21 (57%).

Leading 37-35, Houston extended it to a 12-point lead on a dunk by Roberts, capping a 13-3 run with 13½ minutes left.

Wichita State countered with an 8-0 burst to close within four on two free throws by James Rojas with 11 minutes left, but got no closer.

The Shockers scored 10 straight points to open a 22-14 lead midway through the first half. Houston led 33-31 at the break.

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