Penders' Presser after Cougars Blast The Citadel -- VIDEO
HOUSTON, TX (Hofheinz Pavilion) -- The Houston Cougars utilized trapping defense and a new starting lineup Monday night versus The Citadel; and, both changes had a very positive impact as the Coogs routed The Citadel 81-58 in front of announced crowd of 2617 fans.
UH head coach Tom Penders inserted freshman wing Bryce Clark and re-inserted big man Maurice McNeil into the starting lineup. Clark's active defense set a tone in the first half while McNeil went to work on the glass and pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds.
The Coogs bounced back in a big way after losing 70-64 Saturday afternoon to Mississippi State.
"I felt like the kids were really anxious to play (tonight)," said Coach Penders after the game. "And, try to get the taste of that last game out of our system."
Coach Penders added, "Maurice McNeil really did a great job on the backboards and blocking shots. He was very active."
Coach Penders explained the reason for going with Bryce Clark in the starting lineup.
"Bryce is a great athlete. He works hard every day in practice. He's about 6'7" now. He came in at about 6'5.5". He's growing. He's a very competitive kid. He's been looking really good on the scout; and, I wanted to go with a quicker line up. Bryce can play guard and forward. He was very active on the defensive side of things."
Houston (6-3) led the Citadel (6-7) 38 to 23 at halftime; then, the Cougars blew the game wide open with a 26 to 6 run the first 8:55 of the second half to enjoy its biggest lead of the game (64-29). McNeil scored six of his nine points during the run.
The Cougars' aggressive, trapping defense forced the Bulldogs into 19 turnovers and disrupted their methodical offense for much of the ball game.
"They run a Princeton style of offense at a little faster speed," Penders said. "We wanted to do everything we could to take them out of it. We wanted to force them to play quicker; take quicker shots; and throw them out of rhythm. We did a lot trapping, rotating and forced them out of their offense. They never really got into running their offense all night."
Houston returns to action this Wednesday, December 21, with a home game versus TCU. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
UH head coach Tom Penders inserted freshman wing Bryce Clark and re-inserted big man Maurice McNeil into the starting lineup. Clark's active defense set a tone in the first half while McNeil went to work on the glass and pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds.
The Coogs bounced back in a big way after losing 70-64 Saturday afternoon to Mississippi State.
"I felt like the kids were really anxious to play (tonight)," said Coach Penders after the game. "And, try to get the taste of that last game out of our system."
Coach Penders added, "Maurice McNeil really did a great job on the backboards and blocking shots. He was very active."
Coach Penders explained the reason for going with Bryce Clark in the starting lineup.
"Bryce is a great athlete. He works hard every day in practice. He's about 6'7" now. He came in at about 6'5.5". He's growing. He's a very competitive kid. He's been looking really good on the scout; and, I wanted to go with a quicker line up. Bryce can play guard and forward. He was very active on the defensive side of things."
Houston (6-3) led the Citadel (6-7) 38 to 23 at halftime; then, the Cougars blew the game wide open with a 26 to 6 run the first 8:55 of the second half to enjoy its biggest lead of the game (64-29). McNeil scored six of his nine points during the run.
The Cougars' aggressive, trapping defense forced the Bulldogs into 19 turnovers and disrupted their methodical offense for much of the ball game.
"They run a Princeton style of offense at a little faster speed," Penders said. "We wanted to do everything we could to take them out of it. We wanted to force them to play quicker; take quicker shots; and throw them out of rhythm. We did a lot trapping, rotating and forced them out of their offense. They never really got into running their offense all night."
Houston returns to action this Wednesday, December 21, with a home game versus TCU. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
posted by Kris G @ 10:32 PM
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