Senior forward Devonta Pollard scored 16 points to help Houston cruise to an 82-58 victory over Central Florida on Saturday in American Athletic Conference play at Houston.

Junior forward Danrad Knowles and senior guard LeRon Barnes added 13 points apiece for the Cougars (18-7, 8-5 AAC), who won for the fifth time in six games. Junior guard Damyean Dotson had 12 points for Houston, which held a 40-29 rebounding edge.

Junior guard Matt Williams scored 13 points to lead the Golden Knights (11-12, 5-7). Freshman guard Chance McSpadden added 10 points for Central Florida, which has lost six of its last seven games.

Houston played without leading scorer Rob Gray Jr. (17.3 points per game) for the fourth straight game. The sophomore guard is nursing an ankle injury.

The Cougars led by 15 at halftime and quickly expanded the lead in the second half. Pollard scored eight consecutive Houston points as the lead reached 51-27 with 13:42 remaining.

The lead was 64-41 after Dotson's basket with 7:25 remaining before Central Florida used a 9-2 surge to cut its deficit to 16 points. Junior center Kyle Meyer scored on a tip-in to push the Cougars' lead back to 20 and the advantage reached 25 in the final minute.

Houston led 22-12 after a basket by Knowles shortly before the midway point of the first half. The Golden Knights missed 12 of their final 14 field-goal attempts of the half as the Cougars led 40-25 at the break.