The Cougars have made a habit of giving the crowd at Hofheinz Pavilion a reason to stay until the end of the game. Tuesday was no exception, as they defeated Sam Houston State 75-73 and waited until their last shot to take a game-deciding lead.
In the end, it was forward Kendrick Washington who got the call from head coach James Dickey on the final offensive possession. Washington barreled his way over the 6-6, 230-pound Gilberto Clavell for the lay-in, which gave UH a two-point lead with 12 seconds remaining.
“That was a play that we had been executing well in practice,” Washington said. “Coach just called my name.”
After trailing since the early moments of the first half, the Cougars (7-5) rallied to tie the game on a 3-pointer by Darian Thibodeaux with 7:30 remaining. Three minutes later, Adam Brown gave the Cougars their first lead since the 12:19 mark of the first half.
Sam Houston State (6-4) tied the game on a fade away jumper and free throw by Clavell with 41 seconds left. The defense came up big in the final seconds when Brown came up with a steal that sealed the game.
The win gave the Cougars something to feel good about during the break as they broke a two-game losing streak, which included an 81-78 overtime loss against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday night in which they were unable to hold down a late lead in regulation and lost in overtime.
“That was something that was going through our heads all practice,” Brown said. “You never want to go into the break with a bitter taste in our mouth.”
Clavell led all scorers with 25 points and was a dominant force on the glass and in the low post, repeatedly burning UH defenders for easy buckets or kicking out to an open man for an uncontested shot.
The Cougars’ balanced attack was led by Brown, who scored 21 points on 7-13 shooting from the field. Thibodeaux, Washington and Maurice McNeil also scored in double figures for the Cougars. Zamal Nixon narrowly missed out on a double-double with nine points and 11 assists.
Brown praised the play of Thibodeaux, who hit four of five 3-pointers.
“He was huge for us,” Brown said. “This team doesn’t really have a go-to guy, but without those big shots, we might not be sitting here saying we won.”
Although the Cougars trailed for most of the game, Dickey said he was pleased with his team’s attitude and refusal to give up.
“There was a lack of defense, but there was also resilience,” he said. “I told the guys I was happy that they got the win, and have something to feel good about over the break, but we have to get better on the defensive end. To give up 40 points in the first half was disappointing. We’re not happy with where we’re at, but we have a good chance to get better.”
The Cougars’ next game is against Rogers State on Dec. 30 at Hofheinz Pavilion. The game will tip off at 6 p.m.
