Houston 88, Central Florida 84: Danuel House went 8-of-8 from the foul line and scored 18 points to lead the Cougars to an American Athletic Conference victory at home.

Jherrod Stiggers was 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and scored 17 points for the Cougars (13-14, 5-9), who made 10-of-16 3-point attempts. TaShawn Thomas accounted for 11 points, five assists, four rebounds, three steals and three blocks while L.J. Rose added 12 points and seven assists,

Tristan Spurlock poured in 21 points and Isaiah Sykes had his fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds to go along with six assists for the Knights (10-15, 2-12). Justin McBride produced 10 points while Kasey Wilson added 10 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

After combining for 84 points in the first half, the pace slowed initially and play became more physical during the first 10 minutes of the second half. Stiggers drained a 3-pointer, Jaaron Simmons followed with a three-point play and Tione Womack hit a jumper to give the Cougars a 63-55 lead at the midway point with 8:54 left, but the Knights quickly regrouped to get within two.

A layup by Thomas made it a seven-point spread with 4:21 to go and back-to-back 3-pointers by Brandon Morris and House in the final two minutes helped to seal the win. Points came fast and furious in the first half as the teams combined to shoot 50 percent and fired up 62 shot attempts en route to a 42-all tie at the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Spurlock had 13 for the Knights and House scored 11 for the Cougars in a first half that included 13 ties and 10 lead changes. ... The Knights had a 39-27 edge in rebounding, including 18-6 on the offensive end. ... Thomas has scored in double figures in 26 of 27 games this season for the Cougars.