FORT WORTH, Texas — DeJon Jarreau had his first career triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, helping No. 7 Houston to a 77-52 victory over Tulane in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday night.
Quentin Grimes scored 15 points and Marcus Sasser added 14 as each connected on four 3-pointers to help the Cougars (22-3) recover from a cold-shooting first half from long range. Houston will play the UCF-Memphis winner in the semifinals Saturday night.
Kevin Cross scored 11 points for the 10th-seeded Green Wave (10-13), who stayed with a Top 10 team into the second half after beating seventh-seeded Tulsa 77-70 in the first round.
While Houston never trailed, the nation’s third-best team in scoring margin had trouble building a comfortable lead because of 13 misses in its final 15 attempts from 3-point range in the first half, including eight in a row.
The Cougars were 6 of 22 from 3 when Grimes made one for their first 10-point lead at 48-38. On Houston’s next possession, Sasser hit another shot from long range for a 51-40 lead.
Sasser, who was 4 of 8 from 3-point range while Grimes went 4 of 9, later connected for a 60-42 lead with seven minutes remaining as the Cougars outscored the Green Wave 44-23 in the second half.
Jarreau’s triple-double was the first ever in the American tournament, which is being played for the seventh time. Justin Gorham had 11 points and seven rebounds for Houston.
Tulane had two chances in the first half to go in front when trailing by a point. Tylan Pope missed from inside the arc on the first, and R.J. McGee later couldn’t connect on a 3.
BIG PICTURE
Tulane: The Green Wave wrapped up a seventh straight losing season with a freshman and three sophomores in their starting five. When he took the Tulane job two years ago, coach Ron Hunter had one losing record in his previous 18 seasons at IUPUI and Georgia State. The first-half showing against the Cougars offers hope that Tulane’s losing run can end in 2021-22.
Houston: The Cougars entered the game leading the nation in field-goal percentage defense at 37% before Tulane made five of six shots to start the game. It didn’t last for the Green Wave. They ended up at 37% for the game. Tulane was just 8 of 18 on free throws.
UP NEXT
Houston is looking for a third straight trip to the American championship game.
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