Marcus Sasser, starting his first game since Nov. 29, scored a game-high 19 points, leading No. 6 Houston past host Central Florida 63-54 in an American Athletic Conference game at Orlando on Saturday afternoon.

Sasser, who injured his ankle earlier this month, made four of his 10 3-pointers.

Houston (7-0, 2-0) was one of just six unbeaten teams in the nation entering the day and has its highest Associated Press ranking since 1984.

UCF (3-2, 1-1) was led by Darius Perry and Brandon Mahan, each with 13 points. Darin Green Jr. scored 12 points but missed his final five shots from the field. Dre Fuller added seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Mahan's was held well below his season average of 22.5 points per game, which leads the AAC.

Houston's Caleb Mills, the AAC's Preseason Player of the Year who missed the past two games due to COVID protocols, returned to score 12 points. Mills came off the bench, entering with 14:45 remaining in the first half.

DeJon Jarreau added 10 points and a game-high five assists for the Cougars.

Houston's Quentin Grimes, who entered the game as the AAC's third-leading scorer (20.0), was held to nine points on 2 of 8 shooting.

Early on, the lead changed often. After trailing in the first two-plus minutes, UCF put together a 10-1 run, but Houston answered with a 14-1 streak, with the score was tied 25-25 at halftime.

UCF shot 40 percent from the floor in the first half, including 2 of 9 on 3-pointers, and the Knights were also had a 20-13 rebounding advantage.

Houston, which got 10 first-half points from Sasser, shot 30.8 percent in the first half but stayed in the game with tight defense and by making five 3-pointers, although they came on 18 attempts.

UCF led for 14 seconds in the first minute of the second half, but the Cougars took over, never giving up their lead from there to earn the victory.

Both teams shot under 38 percent from the floor in the contest. Houston was 7 of 25 on 3-pointers, and UCF was 2 of 13 from distance.

--Field Level Media