Toreros cage Cougars, move into finals

ANCHORAGE – Reserve forward Clinton Houston scored a game-high 21 points and point guard Brandon Johnson was perfect from the free-throw stripe Friday as San Diego held of Houston, 72-65 at Sullivan Arena, to reach the championship game of the 32nd annual Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout.

The Toreros (4-1) got 15 points from Johnson and 11 from forward Chris Lewis as they outshot the Cougars 58 percent to 36 percent, and outrebounded them 38-20.

San Diego will meet Washington State in Saturday's 7 p.m. (AST) title game, setting up a West Coast Conference vs. Pacific-10 Conference matchup for the second time in four years. California defeated Loyola Marymount for the 2006 Shootout crown.

The Cougars (2-2) were led by 17 points and four steals Kelvin Lewis, while fellow senior guard Aubrey Coleman chipped in 16 points, four assists and seven steals – one steal short of tying the tournament record.

UH falls into Saturday's 3rd-place game against host Alaska Anchorage (3-1) at 4:30 p.m.

Friday's game was a back-and-forth affair, featuring seven ties and seven lead changes in the first half alone. San Diego took a 31-27 into the intermission before Houston rallied twice in the first five minutes of the second half to gain a one-point advantage.

But after Coleman's steal and layup made it 36-35 for the Cougars, Johnson had the answer with a three-pointer and a second-chance layup, putting the Toreros ahead for good.

San Diego stretched its lead as high as 59-46 on a pair of Johnson free throws with 4:12 to play. Johnson, who was forced to leave the game briefly with an apparent leg injury in the first half, finished 10 of 10 from the charity stripe, while dishing seven assists with just two turnovers.

The Cougars made a late rally behind the three-point shooting of Lewis (3-8 3FG), but could come no closer than four points in the final minutes.

Clinton Houston earned Carrs/Safeway Player of the Game honors thanks to his 7-of-9 shooting from both the field and the free-throw line.

No WCC team has ever won the Shootout title, while Washington State will be attempting to join California (2006), Washington (2004), UCLA (1990) and Arizona (1987) as Pac-10 Shootout champs.

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