And just like that, the Houston Cougars Men’s Basketball team is 2-0.
After a weekend of play, the Cougars opened up the 2010-2011 campaign with a 63-62 overtime victory against Nicholls State on Friday and an 88-68 drubbing of Alcorn State Sunday afternoon.
Led by a senior class that is determined to make this season a memorable one, the Cougars started off slow in their first game against the Nicholls State Colonels.
The intensity showed in the faces of the players as they took the court, but their execution was lacking. After trading baskets for the first 10 minutes, the Cougars found themselves in a hole trailing 27-18 with 5:31 remaining in the first half.
They dug themselves out with strong defensive play and good execution down the stretch. They entered the second half trailing 29-24.
The Cougars were forced to deal with torrid shooting by Nicholls State forward Fred Hunter who accounted for 16 of their 29 first half points. He finished the night 12-21 from the floor for 28 points along with eight rebounds.
After the break the Cougars came out firing. Led by senior guard Adam Brown, who had not scored a basket in the opening half. The Cougars went on a 15-0 run with Brown accounting for 13 of the points scored in the stretch.
“I had to show the team that we could be aggressive,” Brown said.
Head coach James Dickey said that aggression was a key to the game and wasn’t shown in the first half.
“I was disappointed that we didn’t get to the free throw line more than 20 times tonight,” He said.
Brown hit two clutch free throws to tie the game at 53 as the clock wound down to the final moments of the second half. That score remained and the Cougars entered the overtime frame with momentum at their backs.
In the final seconds of overtime, with Adam Brown on the bench fouled out, and the Cougars trailing 62-61 – they inbounded the ball and went to senior forward Maurice McNeil in the low post. He drove to the basket and finished with two hands putting the cougars up by a point with four seconds on the clock. The Colonels inbounded, and forward Anatoly Bose had a good look at the three pointer as time expired, but his shot rimmed out as Cougars secured the victory.
“As soon as I got the ball, I figured I would either score or get fouled,” McNeil said of his game winning shot, the first of his career.
Dickey praised his team’s play after the game. Although he was disappointed in the 26 turnovers committed by the Cougars, he was pleased with the end result. He said the leadership shown by seniors Adam Brown, Maurice McNeill and Zamal aided in the victory. Brown finished with 20 Points on 6-9 shooting to lead the team. McNeil posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
“They really competed hard,” Dickey said. “That’s what you expect your seniors to do, make plays.”
With only one day of rest between games, the Cougars were surprisingly sharper as they took the court against the Alcorn State Braves on Sunday. Opening the scoring with a 9-0 run, and dominant play by Brown, McNeil and junior guard Darian Thibodeaux. They relaxed on defense, and gave up a couple of easy baskets before the period was over and ended the half tied at 35.
UH got more production from their reserves in Sunday’s tilt, as freshman Alandise Harris came off the bench for 15 points and five rebounds on 3-8 shooting. He was nine of 13 from the free-throw line. Harris set the tone early by driving to the basket, and getting to the charity stripe as often as possible
The Cougars opened the second half strong with Nixon orchestrating the fast break, and Brown making plays on offense.
Nixon finished the game just shy of a double-double with eight points and 10 assists on 3-4 shooting. The Cougars pulled away with overwhelming offense as Maurice McNeil posted his second straight double-double finishing with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
UH goes on the road for their next contest against the Louisiana State Bulldogs Wednesday at 7 p.m.
We play Louisiana Tech not State this Wed.