HOUSTON -- Joseph Young scored 20 points to lead Houston to an 84-62 victory over Rice on Wednesday night.
Senior Leon Gibson added 18 points and 12 rebounds in his final regular-season home game for the Cougars (17-11, 6-9), who pulled into an eighth-place tie with Tulane and Marshall in the Conference USA standings. Houston finishes its regular season at Tulane on Saturday.The Cougars shot 50 percent from the floor, outrebounded Rice 44-20 and never trailed after the opening minutes.Tamir Jackson had 25 points and seven rebounds for the Owls (5-24, 1-14), who lost their ninth in a row. Rice beat Houston 79-69 on Jan. 30 for its only conference win, but the Owls haven't won since.Houston honored former Cougars greats and NBA stars Elvin Hayes, Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon during a halftime ceremony. The players recently were included in the NCAA's Top 75 All-Time March Madness Players.
