Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson says lack of experience is what caused a one-point loss
Cougars fall short of comeback in thrilling loss to BYU
Nov 16, 2019, 7:03 am
Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson says lack of experience is what caused a one-point loss
With five seconds remaining, the Houston Cougars led by one when Connor Harding inbound the ball for the BYU Cougars late in the second half. After nearly trailing the entire game, Houston was seconds away from completing what seemed to be an impossible comeback until the final minute of the game.
Harding made a clean pass to TJ Haws, who drove to the right side of the court and scored off a 15-foot fadeaway jumper at the buzzer. The basket gave the Cougars their first loss of the 2019-20 season in a 72-71 defeat to BYU, Friday night, inside in Fertitta Center in Houston.
"I thought their kids played well all night," Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson said. "They have a very well discipline team that really understands what they are trying to do, and they did a great job executing."
TJ COLD BLOODED HAWS! 🥶 #GoCougs #BYUhoops https://t.co/b7USDpJzeH— BYU Basketball (@BYU Basketball) 1573880836.0
Ahead of Friday's match against BYU, Kelvin Sampson spoke on the challenges of facing the Cougars on Thursday. In his interview, Sampson discussed the importance of defending the three against a great shooting team. Unfortunately, the problems he foreshowed became a reality.
Jake Toolson, who scored 14 points in the win, opened the game with a triple for BYU, as the Cougars jumped out to a 14 point advantage over Houston. BYU opened the game shooting 50.0% from deep while scoring 14 points in the paint, but more impressively, it was their play on the defensive end that gave way to a 35-28 halftime lead.
BYU forced Houston to commit nine turnovers in the first half, in which they would convert into 11 addition points. As Houston struggled to buy a basket shooting 36.7% from the field, 18.2% from 3-point range, the only bright spot for the Cougars in the first half came from Fabian White, as the junior forward recorded eight points, five rebounds and a block.
Halftime at the Fertitta Center and the Houston #Cougars are down 35-28 against BYU. Fabian White has been the only… https://t.co/NyrpviA0wz— Coty Davis (@Coty Davis) 1573873456.0
With their inability to score from the outside, the Cougars moved away from the 3-point shot attempts and focused their comeback scoring from the inside and picking up their defensive intensity. Midway through the second half, Cedrick Alley rejected a layup attempt from BYU's Alex Barcello, which gave way to an easy fastbreak bucket by DeJon Jarreau — the basket cut Houston's halftime deficit down to one.
Although Houston would have all the momentum on their side, the Cougars never took full control of the opportunity at hand. While they manage to hold BYU 3-point shooting to 28.6% in the second half, Houston gave up 18 points in the paint, as the Cougars scored on 11 layups.
"Hats off to BYU, but we did not play well to win this game," Sampson said. "We just made too many mistakes, and we have to catch up to ourselves. We have keep improving."
While White ended the night with 14 points and five rebounds, Houston was led in scoring by Caleb Mills. The freshman guard recorded a game-high 17 points in a loss, shooting 7-for-13 from the field, 1-3 from deep.
"He was not great on defense, but I was proud of Caleb," Sampson said. "He can score and was dependable in this game. I know the other guys will get better as the season go on, but he is just a talented offensive player."
Following the tough loss, the Houston Cougars will hit the road on Tuesday to face off against the 3-1 Rice Owls, inside the Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 P.M.
Jose Altuve asked manager Joe Espada to move him out of the leadoff spot and into the second hole for the Houston Astros.
The reason? He wanted more time to get ready to hit in the bottom of the first inning after coming into the dugout from left field.
Altuve is playing left for the first time in his career after spending his first 14 major league seasons at second base.
“I just need like 10 more seconds,” he said.
The 34-year-old Altuve made the transition to the outfield this season after the trade of Kyle Tucker and the departure of Alex Bregman shook up Houston’s lineup.
Jeremy Peña was in the top spot Monday night against Detroit. Altuve had two hits, including a two-run homer, and three RBIs to help the Astros to an 8-5 win. It was the first time since 2023 he batted anywhere besides leadoff.
“I enjoy playing baseball,” Altuve said. “I love playing, especially with these guys. I like being in the lineup. In the end it doesn’t really matter if I play second or left, if I lead off or not. I just want to be in the lineup and help this team to win.”
Altuve didn’t suggest that Peña take his leadoff spot.
“I just told Joe that maybe he can hit me second some games at some point and he did it today,” Altuve said. “I just need like that little extra time to come from left field, and he decided to put Jeremy (there).”
Peña is hitting .265 with three homers and 11 RBIs. He batted first in Sunday’s 7-3 win over Kansas City — with Altuve getting a day off — and had two hits and three RBIs. He added two more hits and scored twice Monday.
Along with giving him a little extra time to get ready to bat, Altuve thinks the athletic Peña batting leadoff could give a boost to a lineup that has struggled at times this season.
“Jeremy is one of those guys that has been playing really good for our team,” Altuve said. “He’s taking really good at-bats. He’s very explosive and dynamic on the bases, so when he gets on base a lot of things can happen. Maybe I can bunt him over so Yordan (Alvarez) can drive him in.”
Altuve is a nine-time All-Star. The 2017 AL MVP is hitting .282 with four homers and 12 RBIs this season.
Espada said he and Altuve often share different ideas about the team and they had been talking about this possibility for a while before the manager made the move.
“He’s always looking for ways to get everyone involved and he’s playing left field, comes in, maybe give him a little bit more time to get ready between at-bats, just a lot of things that went into this decision," Espada said. "He’s been around, he knows himself better than anyone else here, so hopefully this could create some opportunities for everyone here and we can score some runs.”