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Sports

Cougars cut down the Miners

UH sets itself up to make bid for a postseason tournament berth

by CHRIS ELLIOTT
The Daily Cougar

If nothing else, Houston's 74-67 victory over Texas-El Paso Saturday at Hofheinz Pavilion was a confidence builder going into the Conference USA Tournament, which starts Wednesday. 

That, and maybe a sentimental triumph for seniors Oliver Lafayette and Jahmar "Dunk Master Flex" Thorpe, who stay hungry for a postseason appearance. But it didn't count for much else. 

The Cougars (16-14, 10-6 C-USA) had already clinched the third seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming C-USA Tournament before the start of Saturday's game, thanks to timely losses by Southern Miss, Rice and Tulane. 

The team's chances of making the National Invitational Tournament, which has been slimmed down to a field of 32, began to fade when it fell 75-72 in overtime to Central Florida on Wednesday in Orlando. This season, 18 wins might not be enough for the NIT this year. 

So, for the UH head coach Tom Penders and the Cougars, getting the win on Senior Night was nice, but it will be for nothing unless they win three consecutive games in the C-USA Tournament.

"The NIT is going to be tough to get into," Penders said. "I'm looking at all these teams (such as) Michigan and Connecticut. They're all over the country. 

"(It's) NCAA or bust (for us). (We have to win) three in a row, or get on the road and start recruiting again. That's the way I'll look at it and that's the way I'll present it to the team."

Players agreed that winning the last game of the regular season was a monumental booster in momentum and the team's assurance in its ability to win games down the stretch. 

Junior guard Marcus Malone, who tied with junior Robert "Fluff" McKiver with a team-high 19 points against UTEP, is one of those players.

"It gives us a lot of momentum and a lot of energy, because you never want to go into the conference tournament with a loss," Malone said. "You want to have some type of momentum. That makes it easier for us to go in, knowing that we can beat this team if we have to play them again."

In the Cougars' 79-71 road loss to UTEP back on Feb. 3, UTEP guard Stefon Jackson picked up 21 points and 17 rebounds to help the Miners end Houston's five-game winning streak. 

On Saturday, the 6-5 sophomore picked up a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds, but it wouldn't be enough to save the Miners (14-16, 6-10).

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