WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Jarace Walker had 15 points, including the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 4:27 left, and No. 3 Houston rallied to beat Wichita State 70-61 on Thursday night.
Marcus Sasser also scored 15 for the Cougars (21-2, 9-1 American Athletic Conference), who trailed by six midway through the second half. Jamal Shead added 13 points and seven assists.
All five starters scored in double digits to help Houston win its third straight since a one-point loss to Temple.
Jaykwon Walton equaled his career high with 24 points for the Shockers (11-11, 4-6), who went 3 for 20 from 3-point range and shot 39% from the field overall.
James Rojas added 15 points and seven rebounds. Kenny Pohto pulled down 12 boards to go with eight points.
Coming off a career-best 25 points against Cincinnati, Walker shot just 3 for 9 in the first half. But he drained a 3-pointer to trim Houston’s deficit to 50-47 with 10:17 remaining, then tied it 54-all with another 3 at the 6:15 mark.
Walker followed with his 3 from the corner that put the Cougars ahead 57-54, and they opened a seven-point cushion with under three minutes left after a layup by Shead and a 3 from Tramon Mark.
In a matchup between the top two scoring defenses in the AAC, the Cougars held a 30-29 lead at halftime.
Wichita State built a seven-point advantage early in the second half as foul trouble started to pile up for Houston.
BIG PICTURE
Houston: Improved to 9-2 against the Shockers in the AAC era. Houston evened the all-time series at 18 apiece dating to 1949.
Wichita State: Fell to 1-4 in conference home games this season.
UP NEXT
Houston visits Temple on Saturday looking to avenge its only conference loss.
Wichita State plays at Tulsa on Saturday.
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