Marquette University Athletics
Marquette University
Houston (C-USA Tourney)
Henry Leads Marquette Past Houston, 85-73
3/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2002
By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer
CINCINNATI Cordell Henry landed on someone else's foot, twisted his ankle frightfully, tumbled to the floor and thought: Oh, no!
Fortunately for No. 13 Marquette, it amounted to nothing more than a temporary pain on the way to a title game.
The irreplaceable point guard played through the injury and scored 27 points Friday night, running a balanced offense that beat Houston 85-73 in the Conference USA tournament semifinals.
"Cordell belongs in any kind of game," coach Tom Crean said.
His next one will be a championship game. Marquette (26-5) returns to the final for the first time since 1997, when it beat Charlotte for its only conference tournament title.
Much of the credit goes to Henry, who played all but three minutes of the last two games.
"You can't worry about your minutes when you're playing," said Henry, who was 9-of-16 from the field. "You've just got to keep playing, keep fighting through it. You can't think about your legs getting tired."
With Henry directing a highly efficient offense, the Golden Eagles built a 20-point lead and held on against the most surprising team in the tournament.
Houston (18-14) made it to the semifinals for the first time despite a depleted roster and low expectations. After consecutive nine-win seasons, the Cougars put up their best record since 1992-93, when they went 21-9.
Marquette shot 57 percent from the field overall and made seven of its first eight shots in the second half as it pulled ahead by 20, then weathered a crowd-energized Houston run that cut the lead to eight.
The Cougars became only the third team this season to make half of its shots against Marquette - Houston shot 52 percent from the field - but never stopped the Golden Eagles' offense for long.
Dwyane Wade scored 18 points, and Oluoma Nnamaka added 11. Louis Truscott led Houston with 20.
Henry, who showcased his endurance in the quarterfinals by scoring 24 points and darting through Louisville's full-court press, demonstrated his grit a day later.
He landed awkwardly after making one of his trademark floating jumpers only two minutes into the game, twisting his ankle. He came up lame, hobbled down the court, bit his lower lip and moved gingerly for the next minute or so, but never made a move toward the bench.
"I thought it was much worse than it turned out to be," Henry said.
After Dominic Smith's jumper put Houston ahead 19-14, Henry started dashing toward the basket again. He hit a 3-pointer and a pull-up jumper during an eight-point burst that put Marquette ahead to stay, 26-22.
"Henry did a great job of running their club and made a lot of big shots early," Houston coach Ray McCallum said. "They've got a lot of guys that can shoot. Our game plan was to stay compact and make them beat us over the top. They beat us over the top."
Travis Diener hit a pair of 3-pointers 36 seconds apart, pushing the lead to 39-30. Henry and Wade then pulled off the game's most electrifying play, passing back and forth on a fastbreak that Wade finished with a dunk for a 45-34 halftime lead.
Houston, playing its third game in three days, wore down at the start of the second half while Marquette went on a 16-4 run. Henry's jumper made it 61-41 with 14:37 to go.
On the verge of a rout, Houston regrouped for one last surge. Marcus Oliver hit a 3-pointer, a pair of free throws and a driving layup in an 11-point run that cut it to 61-53.
As Houston rallied, the large contingent of Cincinnati fans cheered for the Cougars, hoping the fifth-ranked Bearcats would face them in the finals instead of Marquette. Henry quieted the crowd and stopped the comeback.
He passed to Wade for a fast-break layup, then hit a pull-up jumper that rebuilt the lead to 12 points. He also had a three-point play - he was fouled on an 18-foot jumper - that made it 73-60 with 4:05 left.
The Cougars once again played without forward George Williams, who sprained his ankle in the quarterfinals.
