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Sports

Cougars blow lead to crosstown rival

By Chris Elliott
The Daily Cougar

Hit one and tie the game. Hit two and take the lead. Instead, UH junior forward Dion Dowell missed both free throws with 22.4 seconds left in the game. Moments later Rice senior guard Lorenzo Williams knocked down a monumental three-pointer to give his team a four-point lead that sealed a 76-71 comeback win.

Dowell missed two key, late second-half free throws that could have turned the tide, but junior point guard and self-proclaimed team leader Robert "Fluff" McKiver said it was a team effort and he was willing to take some of the blame for his team's self-implosion over the final nine minutes. In that time, the Cougars turned the ball over nine times and were outscored 34-10 en route to blowing a 24-point lead.

"We didn't take our time, and I think that was the key to the turnovers we had. We didn't stay low with the ball," McKiver said. "We didn't dribble the ball with confidence. I think that was key to the amount of turnovers.

"It was definitely tough, and I think it was hard for us to stay focused and to keep trying to win the game … I'm definitely disappointed and I definitely take the blame. Me as our star player and me as the point guard. I get the glory when we win. I take the blame for this loss."

McKiver may have been quick to take the bullet for his teammates, as he quickly pointed out two missed free throws of his own late in the game that could have made things a little easier for the Cougars. But he only accounted for one of his team's eight turnovers in the final nine minutes of the game, and he did not pick up a costly technical foul immediately following an expensive personal foul with 2:35 remaining in the game that blew Houston's 67-62 lead in a matter of seconds.

Junior guard Robert Lee rushed across the entire length of the court despite the pleas of his coaches and players after fouling Williams, which drew a technical. Senior guard Morris Almond, the nation's second-leading scorer, hit both of the technical foul shots, and Williams knocked down his foul shots, cutting Houston's lead to 67-66. On the ensuing inbound, Rice freshman guard Chris Hagan picked the pass intended for McKiver and took it to the rack for a layup that gave the Owls a one-point advantage. This added to a series of unfortunate events that sent Houston home in utter dismay.

The Owls, led by Almond, found a way to shoot with dead-on accuracy from the foul line late in the game, even before Houston went into a panicky hack mode after blowing its lead. That made all the difference, Rice head coach Willis Wilson said.

"Boy, that's funny (how) we shoot a lot of free throws," Wilson said. "I think most coaches know that you're going to win your fair share of games from the free-throw line. We've lost our fair share of games from the free-throw line. In this game we tried to put guys into situations where they would get fouled and get their hands on the ball late in the game so they can step up and make them."

The Owls attempted 34 foul shots, knocking down 27. Almond scored 18 of his game-high 28 points from the free-throw line, and the Cougars were hit hard by this phenomenon in more ways than one.

Three key Houston players fouled out. Senior forward Jahmar Thorpe and junior forward Dion Dowell were both forced to leave the court after having scored 11 points apiece. 

"Anytime we breathed on Morris Almond, he went to the line tonight," Houston head coach Tom Penders said. "I thought we did a great job on him, but he got the respect of the whistle tonight." 

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