HOUSTON - University of Houston junior forward Devonta Pollard and junior guard Cavon Baker each posted double-doubles to lead the Cougars to a 72-57 win over Morgan State in the program's home opener inside Hofheinz Pavilion on Saturday night.
Pollard led all players with 19 points and added 13 rebounds, while Baker finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Cougars. Pollard scored a career-high 19 points for the second straight game and added a personal best in rebounds, while Baker doubled his previous rebounding high.
Houston used a solid performance on the boards to win their first meeting against Morgan State. Despite shooting only 32.9 percent from the field, the Cougars took advantage of 29 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the Bears 60-38.
Five players grabbed at least eight rebounds in the win as Houston totaled 60+ rebounds in a game for the first time since a 91-59 win against Houston Baptist on Nov. 25, 1995. The team's +22 rebounding margin was the biggest since outrebounding Rice 44-20 in an 84-62 win inside Hofheinz Pavilion.
The Cougars took advantage of a balanced offensive attack, which saw five players reach double-digit points. In addition to Pollard and Baker, sophomore forward Danrad Knowles totaled 11 points with nine rebounds, while junior guard Eric Weary added 11 points with eight boards. Junior guard Jherrod Stiggers finished with 10 points, including three 3-pointers and three assists for the Cougars.
The game was close early with Houston leading 8-7 five minutes into the contest. Morgan State pulled to within 31-25 with 3:29 remaining following a pair of free throws from Rasean Simpson. However, the Cougars used a 10-3 run to close out the first half and take a 41-28 lead into the locker room at the break.
In the second half, Morgan State closed to within seven points at 48-41 after a Blake Bozeman trey, but the Cougars used a 12-2 run over the next 5:31 and never led by fewer than 12 points the rest of the way.
With the win, Houston improved to 2-0 for the fifth consecutive season. It also was the 11th time that head coach Kelvin Sampson enjoyed a 2-0 start in his 26-year career.
Bozeman led the Bears with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, while guard Donte Pretlow added 10 rebounds. With the loss, Morgan State dropped to 0-4 this season after playing their third game this week.
