Jamal Shead scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half and also finished with six assists and three steals to lead No. 2 Houston to a 73-65 home victory over No. 6 Iowa State in a Big 12 showdown on Monday night.
Emanuel Sharp added 20 points and four steals as Houston (23-3, 10-3 Big 12) won its fourth straight game and moved into sole possession of first place in the conference. The Cougars never trailed while stretching their homecourt winning streak to 20 games.
Keshon Gilbert scored 17 points for Iowa State (20-6, 9-4), which split the regular-season series with the Cougars. The Cyclones won the first matchup, 57-53, at home on Jan. 9.
Tre King added 13 points and eight rebounds and Curtis Jones also scored 13 points for Iowa State, which had a four-game winning streak halted.
The Cougars shot 42 percent from the field and made 7 of 24 attempts from 3-point range. Houston committed nine turnovers while forcing the Cyclones into 16 miscues.
Shead made 12 of 13 free-throw attempts and Sharp was 8 of 9 from the foul line for the Cougars, who were 24 of 32 overall.
Iowa State made 41.8 percent of its shots, including 9 of 17 from behind the arc. The Cyclones were 10 of 15 from the foul line and held a 39-30 rebounding advantage.
Houston held a 43-32 lead after Sharp's 3-pointer with 15 minutes left.
Iowa State ripped off 10 of the next 13 points to move within 46-42 with 11:13 remaining before Shead connected on a 3-pointer and a layup over a span of 1:55 to give the Cougars a 51-44 advantage with 9:01 to play.
King buried a 3-pointer as the Cyclones crept within four before Shead made a jumper and J'Wan Roberts scored in the interior to give Houston a 55-47 lead with 7:18 left.
Iowa State trailed 61-55 after Gilbert sank a trey with 3:45 remaining. But Shead made two free throws and Mylik Wilson drained a 3-pointer to give the Cougars an 11-point advantage with 2:54 left.
The Cyclones didn't pull closer than eight the rest of the way.
Sharp scored nine first-half points to help Houston lead 28-23 at the break. The Cougars took advantage of Iowa State's frigid start to lead 17-4 on two free throws by Shead with 10 minutes left in the first half.
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