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Sports

Houston wins close one at ECU

Dyer records double-double in 64-60 victory

by CHRIS ELLIOTT
The Daily Cougar

Including Saturday night's 64-60 overtime victory over the East Carolina Pirates, Houston is 5-3 in games decided by four points or less this season.

On a poor shooting night, Houston overcame a first half deficit of 35-28, while making just 34 percent of their total attempts in the second half. The Cougars were able to force 23 turnovers for the game and held the ECU Pirates to just 29.2 percent shooting from the field.

UH finally managed to get back to the style of play that made them so difficult to beat earlier in the season. Ramon Dyer, Oliver Lafayette and Brian Latham each ended the night with three steals, while the team combined for 12 steals.

"The defense today, really was the story," coach Tom Penders said. "We got some easy buckets in the first half. They were a little bit harder to come by in the second half, but we had success stealing the ball and stripping the post players when they went inside."

Dyer provided a performance on the board the Cougars have not seen in a while. He pulled down 18 rebounds (7-offensive) to give the Cougars second-chance opportunities and critical possessions needed in a close one.

"It was a courageous performance by him," Penders said. "He finished with 41 minutes played and 18 rebounds ... He had some great looks in the first half, they just rimmed in and out, it wasn't poor shot selection."

Dyer shot 6-15 (2-8 three point attempts) from the field contributing a total of 17 points to a team which had three players in double figures.

Lafayette, who could not seem to get the three ball to fall, ended with 18 points while shooting 6-25 (3-15 three pointers), while fellow junior guard Lanny Smith provided 20 points and eight assists.

"Lanny shot well from three point range. Now he's shooting the ball like he used to shoot it," Penders said. "He's going need to start making some of those medium range pull-ups.

Off the bench, sophomore, Sam Anderson continued to see more playing time. In 31 minutes he grabbed eight boards (five offensive rebounds) and knocked down two shots for four points.

After this latest victory, the Cougars improve to 14-6 on the season, but still remain fourth in the conference with a 5-3 record, as Memphis, UAB and UTEP each won their games.

However, Penders says though it is tempting to look ahead, in order for his team to be successful for the remaining seven games of the season, they must take it one game at a time.

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