CINCINNATI — The Cougars fell apart in the second half of Houston’s 64-62 loss Saturday night at Fifth Third Arena at Cincinnati, but head coach Kelvin Sampson had one thing on his mind afterward.
“Let’s address the bite,” a baffled Sampson said, referring to junior guard DeJon Jarreau’s ejection late in the game after he allegedly bit a Cincinnati player while diving for a loose ball. “There was no bite.”
Jarreau, before being tossed with a flagrant 2 foul, had five points, four rebounds and six assists for the Cougars.
“He’s our starting point guard,” Sampson said. “It’d be like them losing their starting point guard. It’s difficult.”
After the game, Sampson, frustrated, reviewed the film of the scuffle between Jarreau and Cincinnati guard Keith Williams, even having his assistants and coaching staff watch it, and concluded the call on the court was wrong.
“I just watched the film,” Sampson said. “If you watched it once, you might be wrong. I watched it twice. I watched it three times.”
Despite Jarreau’s ejection, Sampson lamented Houston’s inability to keep Cincinnati at bay in the second half.
“First of all, we don’t ever make excuses. We were in control of the game up to the nine-minute mark,” Sampson said. “We had some unforced errors.”