University of Houston Athletics
Cougar Basketball Team Plays Host To Virginia Commonwealth
11/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2005
Houston, Texas - The University of Houston men's basketball team will play host to Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday, November 26 at 8:00 p.m. on the Guy V. Lewis Court at Hofheinz Pavilion. The Cougars look to win their first two games in a season for the first time since 1992-93.
Houston opened the 2005-06 season in record-setting fashion when the Cougars defeated Florida Tech, 131-62. It was the most points the Cougars have scored in a season-opening game and Houston made 19 three-point field goals, eclipsing the old mark of 15 set against Cal State Fullerton on February 10, 1993.
Lamar Roberson, came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points as he set a UH freshman record with seven three-point field goals. He was one shy of Houston's school record set by Andre Owens at Marquette on March 2, 2005.
Junior college transfer Oliver Lafayette also scored 19 points and handed out five assists in his first start for the Cougars.
Jahmar Thorpe also scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in his first start for the Cougars, and Ramon Dyer scored 14 points, Sergio de Randamie score 11 and freshman Corey Bloom had 13 points off the bench. Junior guard Lanny Smith had five points and tied his career-high of 10 assists.
The game was not much of a contest from that outset as Houston opened the game with a 30-0 run in the first 8:45 before Florida Tech's Kevin Krieg made both of his free throws.
The Cougar never looked back as they held a 69-27 lead at halftime, and out-scored the Panthers 62-35 in the second half. Houston shot 51 percent from the field, making 46 of their 89 field-goal attempts, and registered 33 assists.
On the defensive end,the Cougars registered 20 steals and forced 33 turnovers by the Panthers.
Houston Looks To Improve To 2-0
Houston enters Saturday's night game against VCU looking to begin a season with a 2-0 record for the first time since 1992-93. That season, the Cougars defeated DePaul, 82-65, in Chicago and Illinois-Chicago, 92-66, in Houston.
Scouting the Rams
Virginia Commonwealth enters Saturday's game with a 0-1 record this season after falling, 51-47, at Appalachian State last Monday night. The Rams were led by senior forward Nick George, who scored 14 points.
George tied the score at 47-47 with 1:46 left to play, but it was the final points the Rams scored in the game. Appalachian State took the lead for good with 30 seconds left when Jeremy Claxton grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a lay-up. VCU had two chances to score in the final 16 seconds, but Jesse Pellot-Rosa missed a shot in the paint, and B.A.Walker missed both of his free throws. Appalachian State's D.J. Thompson sank a pair fo free throws with two seconds left to seal the victory.
A preseason First-Team All-CAA selection, George is one of four returning starters and 10 lettermen from last season's 19-13 team that played in the NIT. The Rams were picked to finish second in the Colonial Athletic Association in a preseason poll of head coaches, sports information directors and members of the media.
Jeff Capel is in his fourth season as the head coach at VCU and has compiled a record of 60-32 and led the Rams to two postseason tournaments. He also was an assistant coach for the USA Basketball team that won a gold medal at the 2005 World University Games.
What's Next
Following Saturday night's game, the Cougars travel to Baton Rouge, La. to play a non-conference game against LSU on Tuesday, November 29 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The game tips off at 8:00 p.m. (CST) and will be televised by Fox Sports Net.
Houston returns home on December 3, and plays host to nationally-ranked Arizona in a nationally-televised game on ESPN2 at 6:00 p.m.
