FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — J'Wan Roberts scored 15 points, Marcus Sasser added 13 and top-ranked Houston held on to beat Saint Mary's 53-48 on Saturday night.
The Cougars (8-0) won twice in their first week as the No. 1 team since the final poll of the 1982-83 regular season, when Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon led high-flying Phi Slama Jama.
Logan Johnson scored 17 points and Aidan Mahaney had 14 for the Gaels (6-3), who lost their third in a row following a 6-0 start.
Houston was the favorite to win it all in the second of three consecutive trips to the Final Four nearly 40 years ago, but lost to Jim Valvano and North Carolina State in one of the iconic championship games.
Coach Kelvin Sampson's first top-ranked team is coming off trips to the Final Four and Elite Eight the past two seasons.
For the third straight year, the postseason path will start at Dickie's Arena, where Sampson likes to bring his team during the regular season as prep for the American Athletic Conference tourney.
This victory in the Battleground 2k22 series improved the Cougars to 9-0 in the arena near downtown Fort Worth, where they have won AAC tournament titles each of the past two years.
Saint Mary's whittled a 12-point deficit to a single possession when Mahaney hit a 3, and he made it a three-point game again at 46-43 with another from long range.
Roberts answered by backing down for a short jump hook before Sasser converted a three-point play to put the Cougars up 51-43.
Houston broke a 17-all tie with a 14-3 run to finish the first half, with Saint Mary's going 1 of 11 from the field in that stretch against the vaunted Cougars defense. Both teams shot 37%.
BIG PICTURE
Saint Mary's: Facing the No. 1 team isn't foreign to the Gaels, who play in the West Coast Conference with Gonzaga. St. Mary's is 2-7 against the Zags when they have the top ranking, with one of the victories coming last season.
Houston: The Cougars had no trouble in their debut with the No. 1 ranking, blowing out Norfolk State 100-52 at home Tuesday. A disciplined and tournament-tested opponent for the second game was just the threat Sampson's club figured it could be.
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's: Missouri State at home Wednesday.
Houston: North Florida at home Tuesday.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
