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Sports

Penders: Win was for Guy V. Lewis

Cougars earn 1,000th win in UH history defeating Saint Louis

By Sam Khan Jr.
The Daily Cougar

On Saturday, it was all about the Cougars.

It was a game that had all the glitter and glam of a featured prime-time contest: an ESPN crew, a little history at stake and a loud boisterous crowd that even had a few famous faces among it. The Cougars seized the opportunity as they took down the Memphis Tigers 66-53 at Hofheinz Pavilion.

With former UH head coach Guy V. Lewis watching over them, the Cougars earned the 1,000th victory in school history.

"Obviously it's a huge thing for our school, because there are a lot of schools that have been playing a lot longer that don't have 1000," Cougar head coach Tom Penders said. "For that to happen today against a great program like Memphis is terrific."

Penders completed the contest with a kind gesture as he awarded Lewis, who tallied 592 of those wins as Houston's coach, the game ball.

"This program has been a very proud program in the past, and we're trying to bring that back," Penders said. "You think of (Lewis) coaching and playing here, and he was involved in about 70 percent of the wins here, and that's unbelievable. Hopefully, he'll get some recognition for this because he is the University of Houston."

Lewis visited practice Friday to give the team some inspirational words, and it translated to the court as the Cougars climbed out of an early second-half hole with an unmatched level of intensity. 

Houston limped into halftime trailing 30-25 and opened the second half by giving up another bucket. That's when Ramon Dyer and Brian Latham took over.

The Cougars (14-9, 5-4 Conference USA) went on a 14-0 run to turn a seven-point deficit into a seven-point lead, fueled by Latham's defense and Dyer's hot hand from behind the arc, as he hit a trio of threes during the run.

Dyer said the 4,927 enthusiastic fans also played a role in the turnaround.

"The crowd got us into it," said the junior forward, who finished a career-high 29 points to go with 11 rebounds. "It seemed like we were down, then Andre (Owens) came up to us and told us, ‘This is not over.' So I took it personal and had to take over, and I did."

The junior guard Latham joined in, not only providing his customary stifling defense (five steals) but also getting it done on the offensive side, finishing a career-high 22 points.

On a day when Owens and sophomore guard Lanny Smith weren't themselves offensively (19 points combined), Latham said it felt good to answer the call to carry the load.

"It feels great because Andre and Lanny know they don't have to score 20 and 30 points every game," Latham said. "They've got other players who can score."

It was a game Houston fans don't always see. The Cougars were hell-bent on taking the ball to the basket as opposed to falling into the all-too-familiar mode of camping behind the three-point line. They weren't juggernauts offensively (37 percent shooting), but they were efficient and made the most of the extra possessions they got from 15 offensive rebounds and 12 turnovers. 

And though Memphis (13-10, 6-3) would close the gap a few more times in the half, the will and desire Houston played with Saturday assured that the game wouldn't be taken away.

"They wanted the game more than we wanted the game," Memphis head coach John Calipari said. "I'm embarrassed to say it, but that's a fact. That's the way it is."

Needless to say, Penders was very pleased with his team's effort and aggressiveness 

"We attacked," he said. "We knew that Memphis was a very aggressive team and a team that rebounds very well, and we had to out hustle them and outwork them.

"It seems like we beat them to the loose balls today. We were there for every loose ball and every long rebound."

Although it was a moment for the current Cougars to shine, they wanted to make sure a past one wasn't forgotten.

"This was for coach Guy V. Lewis, the 1,000th win," Dyer said. "He should be in the (Basketball) Hall of Fame, simple as that."
 

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