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Sports

Cougars: Bring it on, Bearkats

Lafayette named The Sporting News National Player of Week, 
C-USA Player of Week

By Chris Elliott
The Daily Cougar

One week after their victory over Arizona, the Cougars will face another team, who like themselves, are hungry for national recognition and hoping to make it to the NCAA Tournament. 

Sam Houston State will show up at Hofheinz at 8 p.m. Saturday in an attempt to upset a Houston team that has won two consecutive games against ranked opponents, all in the same week.

"This is definitely the biggest game of the year for them," head coach Tom Penders said. "They're a young team, but they're good."

Though they may play teams who are superior to the Bearkats in terms of talent, Penders and his team will try not to underestimate them and get caught by surprise.

"We only beat them by three points last year," Penders said. "We struggled big time, offensively, early on during the game, but we went on a big run late in the game to win it."

Penders expects another fast paced game, full of fast breaks and high-flying antics, from two teams that play with similar defensive styles.

"They will get after the ball and run the court on you if you're not careful," Penders said.

However, with a healthy starting five, the Cougars should have the advantage in terms of athleticism and speed. Junior shooting guard Oliver Lafayette was named The Sporting News National Player of the Week, as well as the Conference USA player of the week. He has been a dependable scorer from mid-range and his quick release allows him to drain treys if he spots just the slightest hint of daylight. He averaged 30 points, four rebounds, 3.5 steals and one assist during UH's latest victories against Louisiana State and Arizona. The Cougars hadn't registered back-to-back wins against nationally-ranked teams since the 1984 Midwest Regional semifinal and final games.

Houston's juniors forward Jahmar "Dunk Master Flex" Thorpe and guard Lanny Smith will both spend this week trying to get back to 100 percent. Junior forward Richard Young will also attempt to get into the shape necessary to stay alive on a Cougar team that probably runs the court more than any team in the country. 

"Our main goal this week is to get Jamar (Thorpe) and Lanny (Smith) as healthy as possible," Penders said. "Richard is a long way from being where he needs to be to get sustained minutes. He's just coming off of surgery, and even some of the long distance or cross country runners would have a hard time being thrown into the type style we play."

Later in the month, Houston will host a two-game home stand, which will include Rhode Island on Dec. 27 and McNeese State on Dec. 31, at 7 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. Penders hopes the same crowd that made Arizona's visit to the Bayou City so difficult will return to support the Cougars during the holiday season.

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