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Sports
 

Coogs cling to final C-USA slot

Houston hopes to avoid falling out of twelfth

by Jay Gandy
The Daily Cougar

When the Cougars take on the DePaul Blue Demons on Saturday, they will be trying to exorcise some demons of their own. 

The Cougars (8-13, 2-8) currently occupy the 12th and final seed for the Conference USA tournament and need a win to ensure they stay ahead of East Carolina (9-10, 1-9). Houston is coming off three consecutive losses and needs a win against DePaul to right the ship. Houston has lost 12 of its last 14 games. 

Throughout the season, the Cougars have stressed taking care of the basketball and against Tulane on Wednesday they did just that. They turned the ball over only 10 times, but they shot only 34 percent from the field. 

Junior guard Andre Owens led the Cougars in scoring with 23, converting 9-11 from the free throw line, and also added eight rebounds. Senior center Anwar Ferguson blocked four shots but played only 18 minutes because he was plagued by foul trouble for the second consecutive game.

Sophomore forward Aaron Anderson has been a spark plug off the bench in the last few games for the Cougars, pulling down eight rebounds and scoring 10 points against Tulane. With he and Ferguson, along with Andy Ikeakor inside, the Cougars look to dominate the paint. Against Tulane, the Cougars were outscored 38-12 in the paint.

If the Cougars control the boards, they may find easy opportunities inside. Another key for the Cougars will be freshman point guard Lanny Smith, who is coming off a nine point outing against Tulane. In the Cougar's triple-overtime loss to Southern Miss on Feb. 3, Smith scored a career-high 31 points, an effort he hopes to duplicate against the Blue Demons. 

The key for Smith will be to find his shots within the framework of the offense. Smith has always seen himself as a guard who looks to pass the ball before shooting, but this season his team tends to be more successful when he looks to score. That was on display against Louisiana State on Dec. 30, when he scored 19 points to propel the Cougars to their fifth consecutive win. 

"All my life I've been more of a distributing type point guard trying to get everyone else involved," Smith said. "On this team sometimes I have to try and step up and be a scoring option because teams are focussing on Andre (Owens)."

The Cougars have just six games remaining before the C-USA tournament, which begins March 10. East Carolina is nipping at their heels, just one game out of the 12th and final spot in the tournament.

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