Coogs stay close early,
fall to Cardinals
By Jake McKim
Daily Cougar Staff
With prized recruit Alton Ford suspended
indefinitely for missing practice, the shorthanded Cougars turned to diminutive
Dominic Smith for offensive help against Louisville on Wednesday night.
Unfortunately for UH, Smithis career-high
22 points simply werenit enough as the Cougars fell to legendary coach
Denny Crumis team, 79-67.
The Cougars, dropped to 4-11 for the season
and 1-2 in Conference USA play, managed to keep it close in what turned
out to be a tight, hard-fought battle until the Cardinals pulled away toward
the end of the game.
In front of a vocal, near-capacity crowd
of 17,214 in Louisvilleis Freedom Hall, the Cougars failed to stop talented
sophomore Reece Gaines, who scored 20 points and made life unpleasant for
the visiting team.
"Gaines was tough," UH head coach Ray McCallum
said. "Our guys were warriors, but we just couldnit handle (Louisvilleis)
outside shooting."
Sophomore forward George
Williams (42) contributed 15 points in the loss to Louisville on Wednesday,
but junior guard Dominic Smithis career-high 22 points led the Cougar offense.
Max Lacayo/
The Daily Cougar
Louisville, which moved to 2-2 in conference
and 6-11 overall, jumped out to an 11-point lead early in the first half,
but UH kept it close with solid play from sophomore forward George Williams,
Smith and reserve guard Torrence Botts. The lead was cut to 41-36 at the
half, but it wasnit until midway through the second half that the Cougars
were able to take their first lead.
The Cardinalsi guards stayed hot from beyond
the three-point arc as Louisville used its superior depth to slap the Cougars
back down to earth every time they attempted to make a run.
"Our inability to score throughout killed
us," McCallum said. "We had our chances, we just couldnit get it done."
Williams, who was expected to be the team
leader this season, has struggled with his leadership role, managing a
decent 15 points but falling short of the offensive dominance UH must have
from him to win in the competitive Conference USA.
On the other hand, Smith continues to surprise
with his eye-opening ball handling ability and knack for taking over a
game when the Cougars need him most.
Botts contributed seven points off the
bench while junior guard Marcus Oliver threw in six points before fouling
out late in the second half. In addition to Gainesi hot-as-fire shooting,
Louisville received big contributions from senior guard Marques Maybin
and senior guard Rashad Brooks.
"Itis unfortunate," McCallum said. "We
couldnit get scores to close out the game, but thatis been our story all
year long."
Itis a year that probably seems all too
long for first-year UH coach McCallum, who left a perennial 20-win or better
team at Ball State to lead a struggling 4-11 squad that has had its fair
share of turmoil.
The Cougars will next head to Memphis on
Saturday to play John Calipariis Tigers in a rematch of two teams that
collided at Hofheinz just two weeks ago.
