Sports

UH can't ride Wave out of the 1st round

Cougar Sports Staff

Senior forward Louis Truscott had his 16th double-double of the season (18 points, 10 rebounds) and led all scorers in the first round of UHis Conference Tournament game against Tulane on Wednesday. Sophomore guard Andre Owens added 14 points as the Cougar starters played the Green Waveis starting five to a dead heat.

Allen Cernosek/The Daily Cougar

But the Green Wave crashed against UHis bench, outscoring Cougar subs 26-4. A 74-52 loss ended the teamis season at 8-20 (6-11 in C-USA). While the bench didnit step up, the Cougarsi season-long bugaboo raised its ugly head again.

UH shot 42 percent from the field (including 53 percent in the first half), but it couldnit hold on to the ball, turning it over four times in the gameis first seven minutes. The Green Wave took full advantage as it jumped out to a 22-6 lead in the first 10 minutes.

The Cougars closed out the first half with a three-pointer from Owens to cut the lead to 36-22 at halftime, but that time, the damage had been done. Sloppy play led to easy lay-ups for Tulane. Brandon Spann and Ivan Pjevcevic torched the Cougars for 28 points combined. The duo shot a blistering .875 percent from three-point range.

The Cougars got to within 12 early in the second half at 39-27, but the Wave went on a 16-7 run to put the game out of reach by the 11-minute mark. Tulane emptied its bench late in the second half and got the lead as high as 24 in garbage time.

Truscott shot 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-5 from the charity stripe. Owens hit some bombs as UH tried to make runs, but he finished 5-of-15 from the field.

The Cougars advanced to the semifinals and made it to the National Invitation Tournament last season, but Wednesdayis loss is the fifth time in seven years UH has failed to make it past the first round.

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