Sophomore and junior guards Kelvin Lewis and DaShaun Williams didn’t play much last season, but when called upon this season, they have answered.
Lewis enjoyed his best game as a collegiate in the 71-62 Cougar victory against Rice on Saturday. He poured in a career-high 22 points off the bench, including four three-pointers, despite battling the flu for the past few days.
"Kelvin came in sick as a dog, but he did a super job tonight. We needed it from him," Penders said. "This is a game that we very easily could’ve stumbled on."
With Rice inching towards the Cougars’ lead near the end of the game, Lewis stepped up and scored the Cougars’ final eight points, going 6-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final 1:03.
"No, there was no pressure at all. (Assistant) coach (Jerry) Hobbie has been working with us all week on free throws. There’s no pressure shooting free throws because we worked so hard on them," Lewis said.
Despite Lewis’ last-minute shots, Williams may have saved the game for Houston. After junior center Marcus Cousin hit two freethrows with 12:51 left in the game, Rice went on an 18-6 run that spanned more than six minutes to cut the score to 56-52.
Williams rebounded a missed three-pointer by Rice and started a break for the Cougars. Senior guard Marcus Malone received the ball on the right-side arc on the three-point line and launched a contested three-point shot. The shot hit the middle of the backboard and landed in the lap of Williams, who put back the miss, was fouled and hit his free throw to extend the Cougar lead to 59-52.
The play by Williams was the start of a 9-3 run by Houston to put some distance between the Cougars and the Owls.
"Coach told me to attack the basket if I want to score," Williams said. "For me it’s all about getting to the basket and being strong and trying not to settle for jump shots. We want to get to the basket and make strong plays and big plays when we need them."
Senior guard Robert "Fluff" McKiver praised Lewis and Williams.
"Guys like DaShaun Williams and Kelvin Lewis stepped up, and I don’t have any problem with that," McKiver said. "It’s my job to get my teammates the ball. And if that’s what we have to do win, then I’m all for it."
