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University of Houston
Tulane
Cougars Fall To Tulane, 63-61
1/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2005
Taylor Rochestie hit a jump shot just inside the free throw line with two seconds left to play to give Tulane a 63-61 victory over Houston Wednesday night in Hofheinz Pavilion.
The Cougars had fought back from a 58-50 deficit in the last four minutes of the game and tied the score, 61-61, with 28 seconds when Andre Owens hit a three-point shot from the left wing.
The Green Wave held the ball for the final shot and Rochestie drove towards the lane. He stepped just inside the free throw line on the right half of the paint and hit his game winning shot.
Owens scored a game-high 23 points and led Houston with six rebounds. He also had five steals and two assists for the Cougars, who suffered their first loss at home this season after winning their first eight road contests. Lanny Smith added 14 points despite playing the game with tendonitis in his left knee.
This was Tulane's first road win in 20 games and it was Houston's first loss at home this season. The two key statistics in the Green Wave's victory was at the free throw line, where Tulane made 17 of their 21 free throws, while Houston hit just 11 of 21 tries. The Green Wave also out-rebounded Houston 52-30, including 17-10 on the offensive boards.
"Tonight was one of the most frustrating nights in coaching," Houston head coach Tom Penders said. "We played hard, forced 26 turnovers and had 19 steals, then we go 11-for-21 at the free throw line.
"I don't want to take anything away from Tulane because they played great tonight, but I'm real disappointed for Andre because he is a senior and one of the first things I told him when I got here was that I would do everything I can to get him into the NCAA Tournament, so he can go out a winner. It's real disappointing when you start thinking about the NCAA Tournament and you give it away."
The loss drops the Cougars to 12-8 overall and 3-3 in Conference USA play. Houston travels to Cincinnati for another league game Saturday night.
