MEMPHIS, Tenn – The only thing Robert "Fluff" McKiver could think to do was stay where he was – lying face down on the court near his bench.
Houston’s senior guard had just missed a half-court heave to tie the game as the buzzer expired, and his coach was in the process of chasing the referees off the court on the opposite side of the arena. Three seconds earlier he had a chance to give his team the lead, but on the potential game winning drive to the basket he wasn’t able to get his hands up to take the shot and the ball went out of bounds.
The refs said Texas-El Paso freshman guard Julyan Stone got all ball on the strip, and that it last touched McKiver before going out of bounds.
Houston’s NCAA tournament hopes came to an abrupt and emotional end Thursday following its 80-77 loss to Texas-El Paso Thursday in the Fed Ex Forum.
"The guy grabbed my arm, but that’s basketball," McKiver said. "Sometimes you get calls, sometimes you don’t. We just didn’t get the call, and that’s what caused us to lose the game."
Houston head coach Tom Penders was livid in his decision to abstain from commenting on a play, which judging from his reaction after it happened and immediately following the game, he disagreed with.
"I don’t have any comment on that play," Penders said. "I have no comment what so ever on that play. You saw it. I’ve been doing this for 34 years, and I’ve never said that before, but I have no comment on that play."
Junior guard Stefon Jackson, who finished with 23 points, made the jumper that gave the Miners a 78-77 lead with 10 seconds remaining, plenty of time for the Cougars to find a shot. Though his senior guard had struggled early in the game, Penders made sure Robert "Fluff" McKiver was the man with the ball in his hand as time ticked off the clock.
UTEP head coach Tony Barbee used a defensive game plan to keep McKiver in check for most of the first half.
"We make him give the ball up, then we do a pretty good job of switching on the backside. I think its frustrating; McKiver playing us," UTEP head coach Tony Barbee said. "So much of his game is scoring the ball. And if you take the ball out of the scorers hands, it’s frustrating."
Houston actually held a 16-11 lead with 10:52 remaining in the first half after Dowell knocked down two three-pointers in a row.
However, McKiver responded with 17 of his 24 points late in the second half. He continually found ways to get to the basket, draw contact and make free throws.
With McKiver struggling to find a rhythm early on and the team trailing, Houston needed someone else to carry the offensive load. Sophomore guard Kelvin Lewis drained three consecutive jumpers to cut El Paso’s lead to 46-43 with 15:59 remaining in the game. He finished the night with 21 points.
Senior guard Dion Dowell made it a one-point game with 15:39 remaining when he hit two free throws after drawing contact on a lay up attempt. The score stood at 46-45 for nearly three more minutes until Dowell knocked down two more free-throw attempts to give UH its first lead in about 20 minutes.
However, the Miners responded by going on an 8-0 run that ended when freshman guard Gabriel McCulley hit a three-pointer to regain a seven-point, 54-47 lead with 11:02 to go.
Jackson added nine points for the Miners, hitting a clutch shot just before time expired in the half to send his team in to the locker room with a 42-35 lead.The 19-12 Miners will face Tulsa today at 7 p.m. Houston dropped its fifth game in nine tries and fell to 22-9 on the season. All the Cougars can do is wait to see if they get a call from the National Invitational Tournament Committee.
