HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Damier Pitts scored 15 points and dished six assists to help Marshall beat Houston 66-58 Wednesday night.

DeAndre Kane and Dago Pena added 14 apiece for the Thundering Herd (17-10, 8-5 Conference USA) who shot 44.6 percent (29 of 65) from the field.

Houston led throughout the first half and took a 31-23 lead into intermission. However, Marshall opened the second half on a 16-1 run to take a 39-32 lead with 13:26 left to play.

Marshall pushed that lead to 59-40 behind a jumper from Pitts.

Nigel Spikes came off the bench to grab 10 boards for Marshall in just 17 minutes as the Thundering Herd won the rebounding battle 43-40.

Marshall shot 57.6 percent (19 of 33) in the second half, after shooting 31.3 percent (10 of 32) in the first half, and forced 15 Houston turnovers.

Leon Gibson led Houston (12-14, 4-9) with 17 points.

Ohio 88, Buffalo 77

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Walter Offutt scored a career-high 23 points and D.J. Cooper added 20 as Ohio defeated Buffalo 88-77 Wednesday night to move into a three-way tie for second place in the Mid-American Conference.

Offutt hit five 3-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds, while Cooper had eight assists and four steals for the Bobcats (22-6, 9-4), who are tied with the Bulls (16-9, 9-4) and Kent State. The league’s top two teams get byes into the conference tournament semifinals.

Nick Kellogg scored eight of his season-high 15 points during a stretch early in the second half when Ohio outscored Buffalo 10-0 to take a 49-39 lead.

Ivo Baltic and T.J. Hall had nine rebounds each for Ohio, which had a 42-34 edge on the boards over Buffalo, the nation’s fourth-ranked team in rebounding margin.

Mitchell Watt led Buffalo with 19 points, Javon McCrea added 15 and Titus Robinson 14.