J'Wan Roberts racked up 20 points and took 12 rebounds to lift No. 2 Houston to a gritty 72-64 victory over visiting Memphis on Sunday afternoon in a key American Athletic Conference game.

The Cougars (25-2, 13-1) used a 17-3 run late in the first half to help build an 11-point lead at halftime, then outlasted an early second-half run by Memphis that cut the margin to four points. Houston pushed its advantage back to as many as 13 points with 7:09 to play.

The Tigers closed to within 63-58 on DeAndre Williams' layup with 2:24 remaining. Houston answered with free throws by Tramon Mark, Roberts and Marcus Sasser and held on to win its seventh straight game.

Houston could move back into the top spot in the Associated Press poll for the third time this season because of its two wins this week and losses by top-ranked Alabama and No. 3 Purdue.

Sasser added 20 points and Jamal Shead had 10 for the Cougars in the win.

Elijah McCadden led the Tigers with 20 points while Williams had 18 points and Damaria Franklin added 10. Memphis (20-7, 10-4) played without leading scorer Kendric Davis because of an ankle injury. The Tigers had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Both teams struggled in the early going with their shooting and taking care of the basketball, with the game tied at 13 after a pair of free throws by Williams at the 9:03 mark. Houston finally found its stride when Sasser got going, scoring his first basket of the contest on a 3-pointer with 8:08 to play in the half that gave the Cougars the lead as the start of a nine-point run.

The Cougars led 22-13 before Williams' 3-pointer with 5:33 left in the half. Houston then reeled off the next eight points, with the run capped by Sasser's jumper with 3:53 remaining in the half to stoke the lead to 14 points. Franklin's 3-pointer with 2:29 left produced the final points of the half and allowed Memphis to draw within 32-21 at the break.

Williams led all scorers with 10 points before halftime while Sasser's seven points paced the Cougars. Houston limited the Tigers to 31.8 percent shooting and forced 14 turnovers that it turned into 16 points in the half.

--Field Level Media