Houston beats UAA to take third

"I am down here for business," he said Saturday after leading the Houston Cougars in a 73-57 victory over UAA at the Great Alaska Shootout.

A strong and smooth 6-foot-4 guard who grew up in Houston, Coleman took care of business by using his speed and his deadly shooting to lift the Cougars to third place in the 32nd annual Shootout.

He scored 25 points on 11 of 16 shooting, sinking most of his shots despite being heavily defended. Two of his biggest shots were consecutive 3-pointers that came with about four minutes left and gave Houston a 65-46 lead, putting the game out of UAA's reach.

"We made him shoot a lot of shots with a hand in his face, and he hit a lot of them anyway," UAA coach Rusty Osborne.

But the game wasn't just a showcase for Coleman, who is averaging more than 26 points a game through five games.

UAA's Malcolm Campbell, a 6-foot-9 newcomer, had his best game of the Shootout and showed a Sullivan Arena crowd why he could be a valuable component this season for a team with no seniors and just three returners.

And Brandon Walker scored more than 20 points for the third straight game, getting 21 on 8 of 13 shooting, with many of his shots contested even more heavily than Coleman's.

The pair impressed Houston coach Tom Penders, who's been coaching Division I basketball for 36 years.

"They've got a few Division I players on that team," he said. "That big guy can play 40 minutes a game for us, and that lefty guard is good."

UAA resisted getting into a footrace with the speedy Cougars, who came into the game averaging 90 points and whose run-and-gun offense would have buried the Seawolves early had they been allowed to run the way they like to.

Instead, the Seawolves took their time on offense and crashed the boards to limit Houston's second chances.

And in the second half, Campbell did an outstanding job battling inside offensively and drawing fouls. He drew eight fouls in the second half and demonstrated a deft touch at the foul line, netting 10 of 13 free throws.

Campbell is a transfer from Division I Hartford, but he hasn't played much in the two seasons since he graduated from high school. He was a redshirt his first year at Hartford -- and didn't even join the team until the semester break -- and logged fewer than 30 minutes last season.

"It feels like I'm getting a little closer" to playing to his potential, Campbell said.

Though he sometimes struggled to catch or hold onto interior passes -- he had six off UAA's 18 turnovers -- his second-half performance was impressive. He hit 7 of his 10 shots that half and practically took up residency at the foul line.

"No one can guard him," Walker said.

But Houston can be just as hard to defend, although for other reasons.

The guard-heavy Cougars are fast, tireless and sweet shooters. Although double-figure scoring threat Kelvin Lewis couldn't buy a bucket -- he was 2 of 15 -- Wade Desmond (15 points on 6 of 8 shooting) and Adam Brown (14 points on 4 of 8 shooting) gave Houston plenty of options. The Cougars hit 49 percent of their shots, a scary percentage when you consider all the shots Lewis missed.

"Houston's a great team," Walker said. "They have great guards. All you can try to do is match their intensity and give them a little space and hope you can contest their shots.

"Unfortunately, they hit them tonight."

UAA, usually dependable on the perimeter, hit just 38 percent of its shots and was an uncharaceristically poor 3 of 14 from 3-point range.

Part of the shooting woes might have been the result of a game plan that, especially in the early going, required the Seawolves to pass up open shots in favor of slowing down the game.

That can take a shooter out of his rhythm, Osborne said, but he said he wouldn't have changed the game plan even in hindsight.

"We knew we didn't have a chance to run with them," he said.

The Seawolves (3-2) hung with Houston (3-2) all of the first half, trailing by single digits much of the time.

Houston led 37-25 at the half, but Campbell brought the Seawolves back to within six, 41-35, by scoring eight points in a 10-4 run in the first four minutes.

Houston didn't open up a big gap until late in the second half, when Coleman hit consecutive 3s in a 10-1 run that gave his team a 65-46 lead with just under four minutes left.

"I'm almost glad, because of how hard (UAA) played, that it wasn't some kind of blowout," Penders said. "We had to work for it."

Find Beth Bragg at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call her at 257-4309.

HOUSTON -- Van Slyke 0-3 0-0, Lewis 2-15 2-2, Wade 6-8 0-0 15, A. Coleman 11-16 1-1 25, Brown 4-8 5-6 14, S. Coleman 1-1 0-0 3, McNeil 2-2 4-4 8. Totals: 26-53 12-13 73.

UAA -- C. Robinson 1-4 0-0 3, Campbell 8-13 10-13 26, White 1-6 0-0 2, D. RObinson 1-5 1-2 3, Walker 8-13 3-4 21, Arnott 0-2 0-0 0, Lao 1-4 0-0 2, Pacitti 0-5 0-0 0. Totals: 20-52 14-19 57.

Three-point goals -- Houston 9-24 (Wade 3-3, A. Coleman 2-2, Lewis 2-11, S. Coleman 1-1, Brown 1-4, Van Slyke 0-3. UAA 3-14 (Walker 2-4, C. Robinson 1-4, Arnott 0-1, Pacitti 0-1, White 0-2, D. Robinson 0-2). Total fouls -- Houston 19. UAA 17. Fouled out -- Van Slyke. Rebounds -- Houston 23 (A. Coleman 7) UAA 36 (D. Robinson, Walker 6). Turnovers -- Houston 11 (A. Coleman 5), UAA 18 (Campbell, D. Robinson 6). Assists -- Houston 14 (Wade 7). UAA 16 (D. Robinson 6). Steals -- Houston 9 (Brown 4). UAA 4. Blocked shots -- Houston 5 (McNeil 3) UAA 0. Officials -- Haskins, Mayberry, Corson. A -- 5,599.

Houston 37 36 -- 73

UAA 25 32 -- 57

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All-tournament team

Most outstanding player — Klay Thompson, Washington State

All-tournament team — Malcolm Campbell, UAA; DeAngelo Casto, Washington State; Aubrey Coleman, Houston; Brandon Johnson, San Diego; Chris Lewis, San Diego; Kelvin Lewis, Houston; De’Jon Jackson, San Diego; Reggie Moore, Washington State; Brandon Walker, UAA; Tiny Gallon, Oklahoma