Dec. 8, 2007
Complete Men's Basketball Notebook and Statistics in PDF Format 
Ten Conference USA teams are in action this weekend, with eight non-conference games on the slate for Saturday and two more on Sunday. Four of Saturday's games will be televised, with Rice squaring off against No. 4 Texas in a nationally-televised tilt on CSTV. Tip-off is 7 p.m. Central from the Toyota Center in downtown Houston. Across town, the Cougars are also in action and will be looking for their eighth straight win as host to Southern University. Houston, Southern Miss and UCF will all be putting their perfect home records on the line. The Knights welcome Ole Miss for a 7 p.m. Eastern tip-off that will be seen regionally on CSS.
Tulane opens the day as the Green Wave will host Gardner-Webb for a 2 p.m. CST contest. East Carolina will also be home as the Pirates welcome North Carolina State at 7 p.m. Eastern. That game will be televised throughout eastern North Carolina on WITN.
UTEP has the fourth television game when the Miners visit New Mexico State. That contest tips at 6 p.m. MST and will be shown as part of the ESPN Full Court package. UAB is also on the road against former Conference USA foe USF at 7 p.m. Eastern. The Blazers are riding a five-game win streak into Tampa.
Two more games will be played on Saturday afternoon. SMU hosts Houston Baptist and Tulsa welcomes Central Arkansas to town. Both contests are scheduled to tip at 2:05 p.m. CST.
CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Robert McKiver, Houston
Senior, G, New Haven, Conn.
McKiver averaged 26.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists to lead Houston to its sixth and seventh victories this season. The senior guard poured in 32 points and tied his own school record of nine 3-pointers for the second time this season in the 83-68 victory over Middle Tennessee State Saturday. McKiver began the week scoring 21 points, grabbing five rebounds and handing out three assists in an 86-79 victory over Coastal Carolina on Nov. 26. This is his first Player of the Week honor this season and third of his career.
Walter Sharpe, UAB
Sophomore, F, Birmingham, Ala.
Sharpe led UAB to a pair of non-conference wins against Louisiana-Lafayette and Big East foe Cincinnati last week. In the 78-72 overtime victory at Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 27, Sharpe was unstoppable in the post. He posted 23 points and nine boards against the Ragin' Cajuns, while also contributing three blocks and two steals in the contest. He did not let up after that performance, collecting a solid 15 points, six rebounds and three assists in the 73-54 win over the Bearcats Dec. 1. Sharpe is developing into one of the top post players in the league, hitting 17-of-29 field goals (.586) and averaged 19.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per contest. He leads the team and ranks fifth in C-USA for rebounding (7.5) and seventh for blocks (1.8).
SHOOTING STARS
• Tulane senior David Gomez became the 29th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Gomez scored the 1,000th point on a free throw at the 5:29 mark of the opening half Wednesday against Huston-Tillotson.
• UAB shot a blistering 64.8 percent (35-54) from the field, 71.4 percent in the first half, Tuesday against Alabama A&M. The Blazers have shot better than 50 percent in all seven wins this season.
• Houston senior Robert McKiver scored 20 points in the Cougars' seventh straight win Tuesday. UH is 8-1 with the only loss a one-point decision (73-72) to VCU. Houston head coach Tom Penders only needs eight more wins to reach 600 for his career.
• Rice senior Paulius Packevicius registered his conference-best fourth double-double of the season in the Owls' 88-81 road win against Texas State Wednesday. Packevicius is the only C-USA player averaging a double-double (11.3 ppg and 10.1 rpg).
• Packevicius grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds against Texas State and teammate Patrick Britton scored a career-high 24 points.
• Memphis junior Chris Douglas-Roberts and freshman Derrick Rose combined for all the Tigers' overtime points in Tuesday's 62-58 win against No. 24 USC.
• SMU won its third straight game with a 71-65 victory against TCU to win the State Farm DFW Duel. It is also the Mustangs' third straight win in the series.
• Marshall freshman Matt Walls drained six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 21 points against East Tennessee State on Tuesday night.
• East Carolina junior James Legan scored 18 points and Darrell Jenkins posted his third career double-double as the Pirates defeated George Mason on Dec. 2.
• UTEP junior Stefon Jackson tops the C-USA scoring chart (24.6 ppg.) and scored a team-high 22 points in the Miners' 84-71 loss at UNLV on Dec 1.
• UCF sophomore Tony Davis just missed a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a school-record eight blocks against USF on Dec. 1.
EAST CAROLINA (3-5, 0-0)
Junior guard Sam Hinnant scored a team-best 16 points, but East Carolina dropped an 82-67 decision to No. 17 Clemson on Wednesday night. Senior Cory Farmer and sophomore Gabe Blair also scored in double figures with 13 and 10 points, repectively. The Pirates face another Atlantic Coast Conference foe tonight when they host N.C. State for a 7 p.m. EST tip-off. The game will be shown throughout eastern North Carolina on WITN.
HOUSTON (8-1, 0-0)
Senior guard Robert McKiver scored 20 points and grabbed a career-best nine rebounds to lead the Cougars to their seventh straight win with a 67-56 victory over Toledo on Tuesday night. Classmate Dion Dowell added 13 points, eight rebounds and a blocked shot. In addition, Marcus Cousin equalled his career-high of 10 points to go along with his eight rebounds and three blocked shots. The win also was Houston's ninth straight win at home dating back to last season as the Cougars improved to 6-0 in home games this season. McKiver recorded his fourth 20-point game of the season season and 20th in his two-year career at UH. He is the only Cougar to score in double figures during all of Houston's nine games this year. Houston out-rebounded Toledo 40-25, the largest rebounding margin in Houston's favor this season and largest since Nov. 29, 2006, when the Cougars out-rebounded Prairie View A&M 52-36. The Cougars will try for their eighth straight win against Southern tonight at Hofheinz Pavilion. The game tips off at 7:05 p m. CST.
MARSHALL (4-2, 0-0)
Freshman Matt Walls scored a career-high 21 points, sinking six 3-pointers, but Marshall dropped a 79-73 decision on the road at East Tennessee State. Classmate Tirrell Baines posted 15 points while junior Markel Humphrey scored 14 points. The freshman duo of Baines and Walls netted nine first-half points apiece, and Baines continued his strong play on the boards, pulling down five rebounds in the first half. Pierre-Marie Altidor Cespedes returned to the lineup after missing four straight games with a foot injury. He played 16 minutes and dished out two assists. The Herd defeated ETSU, 84-83, in overtime on Nov. 20 in Huntington. Marshall will have nine days off for final exams before its next game, Dec. 14 at home versus Rio Grande.
No. 2 MEMPHIS (7-0, 0-0)
Junior forward Robert Dozier scored 13 points as No. 2 Memphis defeated No. 24 USC, 62-58, in overtime Tuesday. The game was the second on the bill for the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. Chris Douglas-Roberts, who entered the game avergaing 21.8 ppg, was held to 10 points. Freshman Derrick Rose added nine points and team-highs of 10 rebounds and four assists. Douglas-Roberts and Rose combined for all eight Tigers points in the overtime. Memphis is in the midst of a three-game road swing. The Tigers have a break before returning to action for a game against Midde Tennessee in Nashville on Dec. 15. That game will be televised on ESPN2. Tip-off is 6 p.m. CST.
RICE (2-5, 0-0)
Senior forward Patrick Britton scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Owls to an 88-81 road win at Texas State Wednesday night. The San Antonio native was 6-for-9 from the field and made 12-of-14 free throws to go with seven rebounds. Junior Rodney Foster also registered a new career high with 17 points against the Bobcats. Senior Paulius Packevicius recorded his conference-best fourth double-double of the year, scoring 13 points to go along with a career-high 15 rebounds. Rice added two football players to its roster, Pierre Beasley and Chance Talbert. Beasley played 10 minutes, converting a three-point play in the game. Rice returns to action tonight when the Owls play host to No. 4 Texas in the Toyota Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on CSTV.
SMU (3-4, 0-0)
Senior Derrick Roberts scored 18 points to help lead SMU to a 71-65 victory over regional rival TCU on Wednesday night in the State Farm DFW Duel. It was the third consecutive win for SMU in the series and fourth victory in the last five meetings. Classmate Jon Killen added 14 points for SMU and freshman Papa Dia chipped in 12. Dia and Paulius Ritter led the Mustangs with eight rebounds apiece. Killen also added six assists and three steals. Freshman Alex Malone was the fourth Mustang in double-figures with 10 points. Junior Bamba Fall had nine points, five rebounds and two blocks. He upped his career blocks total to 129, tying Reggie Franklin for fourth in SMU history. SMU won the rebounding contest, 44-34. SMU puts its three-game winning streak up against Houston Baptist on Sunday at 2 p.m. CST at Moody Coliseum.
SOUTHERN MISS (3-3, 0-0)
Freshman R.L. Horton led a group of four Golden Eagles in double- digits with 17 points, but Southern Miss dropped a 75-68 decision to South Alabama. Sophomore Sai'Quon Stone added 13, while Courtney Beasley chipped in 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Leading scorer Jeremy Wise was held to 10 points. Despite outrebounding the Jaguars 42-26, the Golden Eagles never led. Southern Miss returns to action this afternoon against Spring Hill. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. CST at Reed Green Coliseum.
TULANE (4-2, 0-0)
Junior Robinson Louisme led three Tulane players into double figures with 14 points as the Green Wave snapped a three-game skid with a 75-43 victory over Huston-Tillotson Wednesday at Fogelman Arena. Tulane never trailed in the game and used a 10-2 run early in the contest to sprint out to a double-digit lead and never looked back. Sophomore Asim McQueen, who scored a career-best 10 points, hit two free throws to spark the spurt and later hit a lay-up during the run. Senior David Gomez entered the night just eight points shy of the 1,000-point plateau, and became the 29th player in school history to reach the milestone. Along with Lousime and McQueen, Gomez finished the night with 12 points. The Green Wave won the battle on the boards, 51-37, and held Huston-Tillotson to just 25.4 percent from the field for the game, including 23.1 percent in the first half. Tulane is back at Fogelman Arena today for a 2 p.m. CST contest with Gardner-Webb.
TULSA (2-4, 0-0)
Sophomore Ben Uzoh scored a 11 points to lead the Golden Hurricane, but Tulsa dropped an 81-55 decision to intrastate rival Oklahoma on Wednesday night in Norman. Senior Calvin Walls grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and added eight points. Tulsa returns home to play only its second game at the Reynolds Center this season, hosting Central Arkansas on Sunday. Tip-off is 2:05 p.m. CST.
UAB (7-3, 0-0)
Junior Robert Vaden hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 points to lead UAB to a 91-48 victory over Alabama A&M Tuesday night. The Blazers led 54-24 at halftime and built the margin to 44 points in the second half to win their fifth game in a row, their longest winning streak under second-year coach Mike Davis. Sophomore Howard Crawford added a career-high 12 points for UAB. Lawrence Kinnard, Walter Sharpe and Ed Berrios scored nine points each for the Blazers. Freshman Aaron Johnson had eight assists to help UAB shoot 64.8 percent from the field, including a 13-for-20 from 3-point range. UAB has shot better than 50 percent in all seven of its wins. Next up, UAB is at former Conference USA foe USF on Saturday for a 7 p.m. CST tip-off.
UCF (4-3, 0-0)
Playing a career-high 35 minutes off of the bench, sophomore forward Tony Davis just missed a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a school-record eight blocks. However, despite four Knights finishing with double-figures in scoring, the UCF men's basketball team dropped a 75-67 contest at USF on Saturday evening at the Sun Dome. Junior guard Jermaine Taylor paced the Knights with 20 points. UCF and the Bulls were meeting for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign. Seniors Mike O'Donnell and Stanley Billings also scored 10 points. The Knights will return to action on tonight as host to Mississippi at the new UCF Arena. The game tips off at 7 p.m. EST and will be shown regionally on CSS.
UTEP (4-2, 0-0)
Junior Stefon Jackson scored 22 points, but UTEP dropped an 84-71 decision to UNLV Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Senior Marvin Kilgore contributed 18 points, and he and Jackson have both scored in double figures in all six games this season. Jackson tops the Conference USA scoring chart this season, averaging 24.2 points per game. Classmate Victor Ramalho added 10 points and eight rebounds for UTEP, his third double-figure scoring game as a Miner. The Miners sliced the deficit to 53-45 with 13:36 to play, 56-47 with 12:51 remaining and pulled within 65-56 with 6:28 left, but UNLV responded with a triple each time. UTEP will be back in action today at New Mexico State. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT. The Miners won the first meeting between the two rivals this season, 84-76 on Nov. 27.
