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Houston free throws
snuff big ECU comeback
From wire and staff
reports
GREENVILLE — It was a game
full of thrills and chills but the outcome of the farewell outing in
front of the home partisans by Coach Bill Herrion and center Moussa
Badiane didn't have the happy ending the two would have preferred.
Houston guard Lanny Smith
made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 19 seconds to preserve a 76-72 win
over East Carolina in a Conference USA game Saturday.
In his final home game,
Badiane, an articulate and personable senior from France who has become
a fan favorite in his four years on the west side of the Atlantic,
scored a game-high 22 points.
The game also marked the
final appearance in Minges Coliseum's Williams Arena for ECU head coach
Bill Herrion, who
was asked last week to step down
at the end of the season.
Sophomore Mike Cook and
freshman Tom Hammonds each scored 16 points for the Pirates, who turned
what appeared to be a rout in the making into a fight to the finish.
East Carolina (9-18, 4-11)
trailed by 18, 67-49, with 8:41 remaining, but went on a 22-6 run over
the next eight minutes to cut its deficit to two, 73-71, with 42 seconds
left.
Badiane converted one of
two free throws with 27.5 seconds left to get the Pirates within a point
before Smith went to the foul line.
Four players scored in
double figures for Houston (18-10, 9-5). Cedrick Hensley came off the
bench to lead the Cougars with 20 points. Smith had 18 points, Andre
Owens had 17 and Chris Lawson had 11.
East Carolina, in 12th
place in C-USA, will finish its regular slate next Saturday at
13th-place Tulane (9-13, 3-11).
The Pirates can assure
themselves of one of the 14-team league's 12 conference tournament berths
by beating the Green Wave.
The Kelly Tires Conference
USA Tournament
will be conducted Mar. 9-12 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.
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BOX
SCORE HOUSTON
76, EAST CAROLINA 72
Records: ECU 9-18, 4-11
C-USA; UH 18-10, 9-5.
Halftime: Houston 36-31.
HOUSTON
Player FG FT
Pts
de Randamie 1-1 0-0
2
Dyer 3-10
0-0 7
Latham 0-3
1-4 1
Owens 6-11
4-5 17
Smith 6-13
4-6 18
Brannon 0-1
0-0 0
Lawson 4-6
0-2 11
Jones 0-0
0-0 0
Hensley 7-10
6-7 20
Hannah 0-0
0-0 0
Anderson 0-0
0-0 0
Totals 27-55 15-24
76
EAST CAROLINA
Player FG FT
Pts
Rouse 3-9
2-2 8
Badiane 7-9
8-9 22
McNeil 1-4
5-6 8
Hammonds 6-9
1-1 16
Cook 6-17
2-4 16
Kilgore 0-0
2-2 2
Gagnon 0-0
0-0 0
King 0-1
0-0 0
Hart 0-0
0-0 0
Castro 0-2
0-0 0
Totals 23-51 20-24
72
3-Point goals: Houston 7-22
(Lawson 3-5, Smith 2-5, Owens 1-4, Dyer 1-5, Latham 0-1, Hensley
0-2); East Carolina 6-10 (Hammonds 3-6, Cook 2-2, McNeil 1-1,
King 0-1).
Fouled out: McNeil, Rouse.
Rebounds: Houston 30
(Hensley 8); East Carolina 29 (Rouse 9).
Assists: Houston 13 (Smith
5); East Carolina 16 (McNeil 10).
Total fouls: Houston 22,
East Carolina 19.
Technical fouls: Smith.
Attendance: 5,705.
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02/23/07 10:56 AM
©2004
The Associated Press. All
rights rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Bonesville.net contributed to this report.
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