Coogs end game with 17-2 run and defeat Lehigh, 80-66, in regional round of Legends Classic

Posted: November 17, 2013 -- 3:40pm CST.

HOUSTON, TX (Hofheinz Pavilion) -- The Houston Cougars have yet to play a complete 40 minute ball game this season; however, once again, the Coogs did just enough in the closing minutes to pick up the victory. Sunday afternoon, the Cougars used a 17-2 run to turn a 64-63 deficit into an 80-66 victory over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in a regional round of the 2013 Progressive Legends Classic.

The Cougars (4-0) trailed Lehigh 64-63 with 4:07 remaining in the game; but, with the shot clock winding down, sophomore guard LJ Rose, dished to teammate Jherrod Stiggers; and Stiggers, despite being 0 for 7, calmly swished a three-point shot for a 66-64 Coogs' lead.

"We ran motion, shot clock got low, we ran a flat ball screen; and, I kept on telling him (Stiggers) to be ready to shoot," Rose said after the game. "He made a clutch one, same thing he did at UTPA. I just found him and he made it."

Next, Rose sank a three-point shot to stretch the lead to 69-64. The Cougars poured it on from that point to earn the hard fought win.

The Cougars led by nine (37-28) at halftime; but, a sluggish second half start gave Lehigh confidence which the Mountain Hawks turned into picking the Cougars' defense apart.

Lehigh's Mackey McKnight broke down the Cougars' defense and scored two layups during a 20-11 run to tie the game at 48.

"I've got to change my halftime talk; that’s for sure," said James Dickey, Houston Cougars head coach after the game."We were really flat coming out of the locker room. Those are really critical parts of the game – the first five minutes of the game, the last five minutes of the first half, the first five minutes after the half and the last five minutes of the game which we obviously won big. We've got to come out with more energy defensively. We have to have better starts to the second half."

Houston's J.J. Richardson ended a four-minute scoreless drought with one free throw; and, teammate's LeRon Barnes and TaShawn Thomas each scored layups to increase the lead to 53-48 with 11:27 remaining.

The Mountain Hawks answered eight straight points to lead 56-53. Lehigh led 58-54 after McKnight nailed a jumper. Stiggers sank a jump shot to trim Houston's deficit to two points.

Danuel House swished a three-point jump shot to put the Cougars on top 59-58 and start a 7 to 1 mini-run for a 63-59 lead with 4:49 left in the ball game.

However, once again, the Mountain Hawks responded. Jesse Chuku made a three-point shot from the top of the key to cut Houston's lead to one. Then, Austin Price picked off an errant pass from Thomas and dunked to give Lehigh a 64-63 lead with 4:07 remaining.

In the final four minutes, the Cougars tightened up their defense and regained their scoring touch on offense to pull out the victory.

House scored a team-high 22 points (8 for 14 field goals, 3 for 5 on threes). TaShawn Thomas scored 18 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and blocked seven shots. Rose also scored 18 points, dished out six assists (just 1 turnover) and grabbed four rebounds.

The Cougars host Howard University Thursday, November 21, in the second regional round match-up of the 2013 Progressive Legends Classic. Tip is set for 7 pm.

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