By Jason Caesar Consolacion
Entertainment Co-Editor

Behind Kenny Younger's 24 points and a tenacious Cougar defense, the UH men's basketball team defeated the Tulane Green Wave 76-72 at Hofheinz Pavilion Saturday.

With the Cougars trailing 69-70, junior forward Derrick Fernandez stole a pass from Tulane's Waitari Marsh and ran to the other basket for a streaking lay-up and a foul. The basket gave UH a 71-70 lead, and the Cougars never looked back.

"Coach always tells us to read the play before it happens," Fernandez said. "I saw what they were running, so I just stepped in front of the pass and took the ball."

In one of the worst shooting games of the year, rebounding and defense became the story in a closely contested game. The Green Wave shot 21 percent from the floor in the first half, but 22 offensive rebounds kept Tulane in the game, leaving them trailing UH 37-31 at half-time.

Houston limited Tulane to nine field goals in the first half, but the Green Wave won the rebounding battle 32-24, finishing the game with a 54-39 advantage.

The Cougars rode the backs of Younger and Gee Gervin in the second half, but a 6-0 Tulane run gave the Green Wave a 57-56 lead with 7:53 left in the game.

Sophomore center Ledaryl Billingsley led the Green Wave with 20 points and 19 boards, including 10 on the offensive end.

"He's a big boy," Younger said of Billingsley. "He was tough for us down (under the basket). We tried putting all our big guys on him, but he just had a great game."

Tulane was also paced by the play of Byron Mouton (11 points, seven rebounds) and junior Dylan Ocean (16 points, four-of-five from behind the three-point line).

After Tulane took the lead, the game seesawed back and forth until Fernandez's steal gave the Cougars the lead for good. The Green Wave would have two more chances to cut UH's lead, but Younger and Gervin forced two crucial turnovers by Marsh and junior Sterling Davis.

Gervin iced the game with free throws and Younger put an exclamation point on the victory with a monstrous slam. In addition to his 24 points, Younger finished with 10 rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.

Gervin scored 17 points and dished out a game-high seven assists. He also recorded three steals and grabbed three rebounds.

Other Cougars contributing to the game included junior William Stringfellow with nine points and 14 rebounds and sophomore Chad Hendrick, a player who came off the bench for 11 points, two rebounds and two steals.

"This game was a game where we really didn't play well," UH head coach Clyde Drexler said, "but we played well enough to win. We wouldn't have won a game like this two months ago, but our guys believed in themselves and we were able to pull it off."

The victory gave the Cougars their third win in a row. They will visit Louisville on Feb. 16.