3rd-ranked Houston rolls over Oral Roberts 83-45

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Byron L. Riley, CPA; 832-303-3995; Do you need tax help? IRS Tax help available- Free Consult

POSTED: November 15, 2022 -- 8:54 a.m. CT

HOUSTON, TX -- (Fertitta Center)

The 3rd-ranked Houston Cougars defeated the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles 83-45 Monday night to improve to 3-0 in the 2022-23 college basketball season.

Redshirt-sophomore guard Tramon Mark scored a game-high 23 points to lead Houston in the win. Mark is the third different Cougar -- in 3 games -- to lead Houston in scoring this young season.

Oral Roberts (1-2) scored the first 2 points of the game. Houston forward J'Wan Roberts scored the next 4 points in the paint before ORU's 7'5" big man Connor Vanover tied the game at 4 with an alley-oop slam dunk.

Houston freshman forward Jarace Walker made 2 free throws to put Houston ahead 6-4. The Coogs did not trail the rest of the ball game.

Tramon Mark scored 7 straight points to boost Houston's lead to 13-6. Then, Marcus Sasser knocked down a three-pointer and picked up a steal and slam dunk to increase Houston's lead to 18-6 with 12:50 remaining in the first half.

ORU had a five minute scoring drought which saw Houston turn an 8-6 lead to 23-6. The Coogs led by as much as 27 in the first half.

Sasser capped off the first half Houston barrage with a three-point basket to beat the halftime buzzer. Sasser's buzzer beater was set up by a blocked shot by big man Ja'Vier Francis which point guard Jamal Shead corralled before racing up the court and dishing to Sasser with the clock winding down.

Houston led 51 in the first half. Mark (19 points) and Sasser (15 points) combined to outscore ORU 34-24 in the opening half.

The Coogs led ORU 51-24 at halftime.

Houston was sloppy the first 3 minutes of the second half; and, Head Coach Kelvin Sampson made a few substitutions.

"I was not really happy," Coach Sampson said regarding his team's start to the second half. "And, I subbed out Jarace [Walker] and J'Wan [Roberts] with two other guys that appreciate being in there."

Houston freshman Terrance Arceneaux scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half. Ja'Vier Francis finished the game with 11 points and 11 rebounds (in 16 minutes) for his first collegiate double-double.

"I was happy for Terrance," Coach Sampson commented after the game. "Terrance can shoot. That's something that, as we go along, we're going to need but you know, he's a freshman."

"Ja'Vier is going to be really good," Coach Sampson added. "We watched him last year in practice. He wasn't very good; but, he was raw. Not nearly as raw now. He's gotten better."

Marcus Sasser scored 19 points in the game and pulled down a career-high 7 rebounds.

Due to early foul trouble for Jarace Walker and J'Wan Roberts getting his nose bloodied because of an inadvertent elbow, Houston utilized a four-guard lineup with sophomore Ramon Walker at the 4 (power forward) spot.

"We've been working with Ramon as our third or fourth [guard]", Coach Sampson said. "And, he was terrific in the first half. He had six rebounds in the first half. Ramon's tough enough to guard multiple positions, and he's a tough kid, and he'll rebound. He doesn't need to score to help us win a game. He impacts winning in a lot of ways because he is a winner."

Oral Roberts made 7 of 31 field goal attempts in both halves of the game. The Golden Eagles finished the game shooting 22.6 fg% (14 for 62).

Houston scored 1.317 points per possession while Oral Roberts scored 0.672 points per possession.

NEXT: The Coogs next game is Wednesday, November 16, versus Texas Southern. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

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Byron L. Riley, CPA; 832-303-3995; Do you need tax help? IRS Tax help available- Free Consult

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