{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Houston 72, South Florida 55
When: 3:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 1, 2015
Where: Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston, Texas
Officials: # Jeffrey Anderson, # Mike Stuart, # Raymond Styons
Attendance: 2816

Houston 72, USF 55: Devonta Pollard had 18 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high tying five steals to help the Cougars to an easy home victory over the Bulls.

LeRon Barnes added 15 points for Houston (10-18, 2-14 American), which was helped by a 37-25 edge on the boards, including a 17-6 advantage on the offensive glass. Wes VanBeck had 12 points off the bench for the Cougars while Jherrod Stigers tallied 11 points and a career high-tying seven assists.

Freshman Troy Holston Jr. finished with season highs of 22 points and seven rebounds to lead USF (8-21, 2-14) in both categories. Nehemias Morillo scored 12 points and Ruben Guerrero chipped in nine points and six boards.

Houston jumped out to a 9-1 lead, holding USF without a field goal for the first four-plus minutes of the game, and led 18-5 on Danrad Knowles' 3-pointer with under 13 minutes to go in the half. But the Cougars then went more than five minutes without a point, and the Bulls got all the way back to within two with just over six minutes left before settling for a four-point halftime deficit.

The Cougars started the second half hot as well, opening on a 15-2 run, with Weary scoring six of those points, and led by 17 on a Stiggers layup with under 11 minutes to play. The Bulls could never put together another significant run and Houston won going away.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Bulls were playing their first game without leading scorer Corey Allen Jr., who was declared ineligible for six games on Saturday for receiving impermissible benefits. … USF went 6-of-13 from 3-point range while Houston shot 9-of-20 beyond the arc. … Pollard and Knowles combined for nine of the Cougars' 10 steals in the game.
Top Game Performances
 
South Florida   Houston
Troy Holston Jr. 22 Scoring Devonta Pollard 18
Anthony Collins 5 Assists Jherrod Stiggers 7
Troy Holston Jr. 7 Rebounds Devonta Pollard 10
Ruben Guerrero 3 Free Throws Made Devonta Pollard 10
Anthony Collins 2 Steals Devonta Pollard 5
Bo Zeigler 2 Blocks LeRon Barnes 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
South Florida 55 44.2 6-13 11-15 9 21 5 5 17
Houston 72 40.7 9-20 19-25 13 33 1 10 14