Quentin Grimes scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half as the seventh-ranked and second-seeded Houston Cougars rolled to a 91-54 victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats in the American Athletic Conference tournament final on Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas.

Grimes, limited to nine foul-plagued minutes in the first half, helped the Cougars land the knockout blow early in the second half by scoring 10 points during a 12-0 run that pushed Houston (24-3) to a 53-29 lead.

The Cougars claimed their first American tournament title and their first conference championship since 2010 by defeating the Bearcats (12-11) after falling to Cincinnati in each of the previous two American tournament finals.

Marcus Sasser added 16 points while DeJon Jarreau produced 10 points, five rebounds and seven assists for the Cougars, who shot 56.1 percent while hitting 11 of 23 3-pointers. Houston limited Cincinnati to 27.7 percent shooting, turned 11 Bearcats turnovers into 17 points, and posted a 41-35 rebounding advantage.

The Cougars defeated Cincinnati by 38 points on Feb. 21.

Jeremiah Davenport scored 11 points, all in the first half for the Bearcats. Mamoudou Diarra added 10 points.

Unselfish play enabled the Cougars to seize a 41-27 halftime lead. Houston recorded 13 assists on 15 first-half field goals, a key factor in the Cougars shooting 53.6 percent prior to intermission.

With Grimes on the bench, Sasser helped fill the void with 14 first-half points. Jarreau did all of his scoring prior to the break. Justin Gorham scored all nine of his points in the first half as well.

Cincinnati missed 10 consecutive field goals as Houston extended to a 31-15 lead. The Bearcats fashioned one last gasp with a 7-0 spurt that cut the deficit to 10, only for Sasser to score the final four points of the half.

His late burst complemented an early push from Gorham, whose seven points helped Houston take control with a 19-11 lead by the second media timeout.

--Field Level Media