University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Texas Bluechips-Exhibition
Texas Bluechips Edge Cougars 80-79
11/11/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 11, 2001
Houston, Texas - Darrell Walters hit a three-pointer from the left wing with 30 seconds left to give the Texas Bluechips an 80-79 victory over the University of Houston men's basketball team in Hofheinz Pavilion Sunday afternoon.
The game was close throughout the final seven minutes as both teams exchanged leads five times and fought to a 73-73 tie with 3:44 left to play.
That was when Terry Price hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to give Houston a 76-73 lead. But, the Bluechips came right back as Larry Jackson nailed a jumper from inside the lane.
Then, Walters stole the ball from Houston's Patrick Okafor and Jackson made another jumper to give the Bluechips a 77-76 lead with 2:13 left to play.
After both teams forced a turnover, Price nailed another trey from the right wing to give the Cougars a 79-77 lead with 56 seconds left play.
On their next possession, the Bluechips worked the ball inside to John Irving, who was posted up on the left block. When the Cougar double-teamed him, Irving passed the ball back out to Walters for his game winning trey from the left wing with 30 seconds remaining to play.
Houston had two chances to come back and retake the lead, Patrick Okafor's five-foot jumper in the middle of the lane rolled off the front of the basket and Dominic Smith's desperation running jumper from the top of the key went halfway down and popped back out in the final seconds.
The win gave the Bluechips their second straight victory in the last two days. They beat Baylor 80-77 in Waco on Saturday.
The loss also offset three outstanding performances by Louis Truscott, Okafor and Smith as all three players recorded double-double performances for the Cougars.
Truscott scored 17 points and grabbed a game-high 20 rebounds, while Okafor added 17 points and 12 rebounds. Smith netted 12 points and 13 assists. George Williams added 15 points, seven rebounds and a game-high three blocked shots, while Price tallied 11 points in his first start as a Cougar. He replaced Marcus Oliver in Houston's starting lineup. Oliver sat out the game with a strained groin muscle.
The Cougars will open the regular season in the EASports Maui Invitational on November 19-21. Houston will play fifth-ranked UCLA in the first round and either sixth-ranked Kansas or Ball State in the second round. The other teams in the tournament are top-ranked and defending national champion Duke, Seton Hall, South Carolina and Chaminade.
Houston will play its first regular season home game against cross-town rival Rice University on November 29 in Hofheinz Pavilion.
