The men’s basketball team traveled to Anchorage, Alaska for the Great Alaska Shootout, and returned with a mixed bag.
Along the way to a third-place finish, the Cougars (3-2) posted a 100-93 upset over No. 25 Oklahoma (3-3) on Thursday. The victory was UH’s first over a ranked opponent since it knocked off LSU in 2005.
The stars were the backcourt tandem of Kelvin Lewis and Aubrey Coleman. Lewis scored 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting, including 6-of-11 from 3-point range. Coleman poured in 27 points.
The jolt would be taken out of that victory Friday, however, when the Cougars faced San Diego (4-2), which also beat Oklahoma on Wednesday. UH dropped the game, 72-65, setting up a consolation game with host Alaska-Anchorage on Saturday.
The Cougars’ biggest area of concern was shooting, as they could connect on only 36 percent of their shot attempts. Meanwhile, the Toreros shot 58 percent and made 25 of their 30 free-throw attempts.
On Saturday, the Cougars defeated Alaska-Anchorage 73-57, but the game was closer than the final score showed.
The Cougars led the entire way, but for a majority of the first half, the Seawolves (3-2) scrapped and refused to go away. The Cougars began to assert themselves in the final five minutes before halftime and took a 37-25 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Cougars shot 49 percent and held UAA (3-2) to 38 percent. UH was outworked on the glass, however, as the Seawolves outrebounded the Cougars, 36-23.
The Cougars will return home to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 2 p.m. Sunday at Hofheinz Pavilion.
Women’s basketball ends three-game skid
Like the men, the women’s basketball team ended their week with a victory in a consolation game.
UH defeated Texas State, 90-58, in their second game of the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational to go 1-2 for the week.
Both teams started off cold from the field in the first half, and the Cougars (4-3) led 12-9 with 10:06 left before halftime.
The game was never close after that mark, however, as UH went on a 29-10 run to take a 41-19 advantage into halftime.
In the first half, the Cougars shot 43 percent, but the Bobcats shot a futile 21 percent. The trend was more of the same in the second half, allowing UH to pull away.
Saturday’s win was a nice way for UH to bounce back after suffering its worst lost of the season to Delaware on Friday, 72-43.
The Cougars’ offensive struggles started Tuesday when they played the Miami Hurricanes at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Fla.
UH was not dominated as it was against Delaware, but still suffered a 68-54 setback thanks to 29 percent shooting.
The Cougars will attempt to earn their second straight win when they face North Texas at 7 p.m. Saturday at Hofheinz Pavilion.