SAN ANTONIO — There was a single minute remaining Saturday night, and the Houston Cougars were down six points to the Duke Blue Devils. The odds were not in Houston’s favor. Yet Kelvin Sampson, 39 games into his 36th season as a college head basketball coach, decided that it was not yet time to resort to desperate measures.
He would not start the usually futile process of deliberately fouling in order to extend the game. He would ride with what he’s always ridden. He would count on his team’s defense and rebounding to save them.
