Student Publications
University of Houston
151C Communications Bldg
Houston, TX 77204-4015
713.743.5350

©1991-2007
Student Publications,
All rights reserved.

Last modified:

Contact:
ktruitt@uh.edu

Sports

Cougars look for spark at Tulane

Penders pushes team to regain confidence in conference play

by BEN GEGENHEIMER
The Daily Cougar

The UH men's basketball team is on the road again and looking to improve their 1-3 conference record as they face Conference USA foe Tulane tonight in New Orleans. The Cougars are recovering from an 82-79 loss at UAB last Saturday, dropping their overall record to 10-6 on the season. Despite the loss, head coach Tom Penders is pleased with the recent success his team has had offensively.

"We've knocked down most of our open shots," Penders said. "In our previous three games, we were missing wide open shots, and that gets contagious. In basketball, shooting is a very psychological thing. It's confidence or lack thereof."

Cougar guard Lanny Smith has shown an abundance of confidence in shooting lately, scoring a total of 38 points in the past two games. Smith tied his season-high with a 20-point effort Saturday. The Missouri City native recently switched to the shooting guard position after beginning the season at the point, a move that has paid dividends for UH.

"I was more passive than I should have been in the beginning of the year," Smith said. "Coach decided to move me to the 2-guard for a while and wanted me to be more aggressive, and that's what I've been doing."

The Cougars have an opportunity to gain some ground in C-USA against the Green Wave, who picked up their first conference victory last Saturday with a 60-52 win over East Carolina. Tulane (5-11,1-3) is led by forward Quincy Davis, who recorded his fourth 20-point game of the year against the Pirates.

Despite the Cougars 1-3 conference mark, Penders does not feel a sense of urgency to win. He would like to see his team continue to perform as they did against Alabama-Birmingham, in which they played a complete game.

"We just have to not think about anything other than the game ahead and play as hard as we can and play at the same level we played our last game at," Penders said. "Offensively and defensively we put together a total game, and we need to continue to do that."

Wednesday's game will be the first trip to New Orleans for Penders and his team since Hurricane Katrina. It will also be a homecoming for freshman Corey Bloom, who helped lead Brother Martin High School to consecutive Louisiana Class 5A state championships in 2004 and 2005. Bloom was named to the All-State team as a senior at Brother Martin, a school located in Gentilly, La., one of the areas of the city worst affected by the storm. 

"We have to focus on the game," Penders said. "But I can only imagine how difficult it has been for these Tulane kids and their coaching staff and what they've been through. It's one of my favorite cities, and I almost can't bear to see it yet."

Tonight's game will be played on the Tulane campus at Fogelman Arena. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. 
 

Send comments to dcsports@mail.uh.edu