National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Houston 72, Morgan St. 57
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 22, 2014
Where: Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston, Texas
Officials: # Tim Gattis, # Mike Roberts, # Mike Stuart
Attendance: 3058


Houston 72, Morgan State 57: Devonta Pollard collected 19 points and 13 rebounds while Cavon Baker added 12 points and 10 boards as the Cougars rolled past the Bears in their home opener.

Eric Weary Jr. and Danrad Knowles scored 11 points apiece for Houston (2-0), which outrebounded Morgan State 60-38 and led by as many as 22 in the second half. Jherrod Stiggers overcame a poor shooting game and finished with 10 points as the Cougars shook off some early rust and drew clear in the second half.

Blake Bozeman led Morgan State (0-4) with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and Rasean Simpson had eight points and five rebounds. Donte Pretlow added 10 points for the Bears, who lost for the fourth time in nine days.

Houston, playing for the first time in eight days, made seven 3-pointers in the first half and took a 41-28 lead into the break. The Cougars led 18-14 with 8:26 left in the first half before Stiggers, Baker and Weary each drained a 3-pointer during a 10-3 run.

Morgan State, which entered the game shooting 19.7 percent from 3-point range, was 8-of-20 from beyond the arc and cut the deficit to seven on Bozeman’s 3-pointer with 14:15 remaining. Houston quickly regained control as Weary made two foul shots to cap an 11-0 run and push the lead to 59-41 with 10:13 left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pollard was 8-of-13 from the field. … Houston visits Harvard on Tuesday before starting a five-game homestand against Texas-Pan American on Dec. 4. … Morgan State heads to Cancun to face Elon on Tuesday in the Cancun Challenge.

Top Game Performances
 
Morgan St.   Houston
Blake Bozeman 18 Scoring Devonta Pollard 19
Conrad Chambers 2 Assists Cavon Baker 3
Cliff Cornish 5 Rebounds Devonta Pollard 13
Rasean Simpson 3 Free Throws Made Danrad Knowles 4
Cliff Cornish 3 Steals Cavon Baker 2
Jordan Omogbehin 1 Blocks Devonta Pollard 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Morgan St. 57 33.3 8-20 5-8 9 32 4 12 19
Houston 72 32.9 10-38 14-22 12 59 2 9 23