PC-Houston Box Score
DURHAM, N.C. ? Presbyterian College sophomore center Al'Lonzo Coleman had a career day by securing his first career double-double in PC's 76-57 loss to Houston in the consolation game of the Durham Regional of the 2008 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Coleman (Charlotte, N.C./Vance) scored a career-high tying 19 points against Houston and brought down his first career double-digit rebound total with 10 boards in the loss to the Cougars. Coleman's 19 points scored tied the career-best mark he set in PC's game with UC Davis in the 2007-08 season in Davis, Calif. Coleman's 10 boards bested the nine rebounds he brought down in PC's game with Liberty last season.
Coleman was one of two Blue Hose to score in double figures in the loss to Houston. Senior guard Bryan Bostic (Norcross, Ga./Norcross) finished with 14 points and three rebounds against the Cougars.
Houston was led in its victory by four Cougars in double figures. Aubrey Coleman guided the Cougars with a team-high 18 points. Houston's Marcus Cousin ended his efforts in the win by setting a career high in points for the second consecutive game with 17 points. Cousin had previously set his career high with 13 points in Houston's tournament opening loss to Georgia Southern on Monday.
Kelvin Lewis and Desmond Wade both also had 15 for the Cougars in the game.
The Blue Hose shot just 28.6 percent in the first half from the field, but they improved dramatically in the second stanza, concluding the game shooting 40 percent (16-for-40). The Blue Hose were 12-for-26 (46.2 percent) in the second half. Houston shot 53.6 percent (30-for-56) in the game.
PC held a stout advantage in free throws, particularly in the second half. The Blue Hose shot 90.9 percent (10-for-11) in the second half from the charity stripe to end the game shooting 79.2 percent (19-for-24) from the free throw line. Houston shot 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from the free throw line in the game in its win.
PC took its first lead of the game in the opening minute when Josh Johnson (Hendersonville, Tenn./Hendersonville) knocked down a three-pointer to give the Blue Hose a 3-2 advantage. The Cougars would then go on a 12-1 run to take a 14-4 lead. Chase Holmes (Spartanburg, S.C./Chesnee) thwarted Houston's run when he nailed PC's second three of the contest and the first three-pointer of his young PC career at the 14:20 mark.
The Houston duo of Wade and Coleman then propelled to the Cougars to as much as a 14-point lead in the second half at 27-13. The Blue Hose had cut the lead to 12 at 27-15 after two Bostic free throws at the 8:03 mark of the first half.
Johnson pulled the Blue Hose back to within nine points at 27-18 after he hit his second three-pointer of the evening with just under six minutes left in the first half.
The Cougars ended the first half on an 8-2 run to enter the locker rooms with a 35-20 lead. Most of the 15-point advantage could be attributed to turnovers as PC turned the basketball over 12 times in the first half, allowing Houston to collect 16 points off the 12 turnovers.
PC shot just 28.3 percent (4-for-14) in the first half, while Houston ended the first stanza shooting 14-for-29 (48.6 percent).
The Cougars opened the second half much the same way that they concluded the first, scoring 13 of the first 17 points in the second half to take a 48-24 lead by the 15:20 mark of the second half. The 13-4 run by Houston extended the Cougars overall run to 21-6 from the final six minutes of the first half into the first five minutes of the second half.
The Cougars (1-1) would stay ahead of the Blue Hose by more than 20 for most of the first 13 minutes of the first half, but Bostic hit a driving lay-up with just under seven minutes left in the contest to pull the Blue Hose back to within 20 at 59-39.
A few minutes later PC would get the score down below 20 at 66-47 after Holmes nailed his second three-pointer of the game. Houston would pull back ahead by 20 once again shortly thereafter, but PC was able to pull it back to 19 points at 72-53. The 19 point deficit in the end would prove to be as close as the Blue Hose could get with the Cougars taking a 76-57 victory.
The Blue Hose were only outscored by four (41-37) in the second half. PC cut down definitively on their turnovers in the second half to only allow Houston to score four points of turnovers in the second frame.
The Blue Hose (0-2) will next travel to Athens, Ga. to face off against the Georgia Bulldogs for the second consecutive season. The Bulldogs and Blue Hose are scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 21.
