HOUSTON, Texas – No. 17/15 Houston found its shooting touch in the second half to deny an upset bid from Wichita State and preserve the nation's longest home winning streak, 79-70, Saturday evening at a sold out Fertitta Center.
 
Markis McDuffie scored a game-high 22 points for WSU (7-8, 0-3 American) on 4-of-7 three-point shooting. It was the sixth 20-point game of the season for the senior and the 10^th of his career.
 
Samajae Haynes-Jones added 14 points in 35 minutes. Dexter Dennis tacked on eight points and a team-high six rebounds.
 
Corey Davis Jr. (20 points) and Armoni Brooks (14) combined for seven three-pointers in the second half, and Galen Robinson dished out 11 assists with just two turnovers for Houston (16-1, 3-1), which has won 29-straight home games going back to the start of the last season.
 
The Shockers built their largest lead of the game midway through the first half with help from an 11-0 run. McDuffie suppled the last five points. His three made it a 27-19 game with 8:05 to play in the period.
 
WSU led 38-33 at halftime but was outscored 46-32 the rest of the way.
 
Houston shot over 56 percent in the second half, including 7-of-14 from three after making just 2-of-11 attempts in the first 20 minutes.
 
UH used a 14-0 run to take a 48-40 lead with 14:08 to go.
 
The Shockers scored the next seven points to regain momentum. McDuffie's four-point play put WSU in front, 56-55 at the 10:55-mark.
 
Davis and Brooks connected on treys to key a 7-0 Houston run, and the hosts never trailed again.
 
WSU's 70 points were the third-most allowed by Houston this year. The Cougars entered the night ranked ninth nationally in scoring defense (60.1 points-per-game) and second in field goal percentage defense (.363).
 
The Shockers shot 38.9 percent from the field and were 9-of-25 (.360) from three. They hit 19-of-23 free throws.
 

---

Notable:
***McDuffie's 14-consecutive double-figure scoring games is tied with Ron Baker for the second-longest streak of the Marshall Era. Cleanthony Early had 19-in-a-row during the 2013-14 season.
***McDuffie (1,143 career points) jumped five spots on WSU's career scoring list to No. 32, passing Bob Hodgson, Terrell Benton, Kyle Wilson, Cleanthony Early and Al Tate.
***WSU's four-game losing streak is its longest since January, 2009 when the Shockers opened MVC play at 0-6.
***WSU is 3-9 all-time in Houston but still leads the all-time series with the Cougars, 17-12.
***WSU dropped to 0-4 on the road. They had been 49-8 in true road contests over the five previous years.
 

---

Up Next:
The Shockers host UCF Wednesday night at Charles Koch Arena. The 9 p.m. CT tip airs nationally on CBS Sports Network. Tickets are available at goshockers.com/mbbtickets.