April 8, 2005

Portsmouth, Va.- - University of Houston senior guard Andre Owens scored 16 points and handed out five assists to lead the Portsmouth Sports Club to an 86-81 victory over Beach Martin Ford in the first round of the 2005 Portsmouth Invitational Thursday.

Owens also grabbed six rebounds to go along with his points and assists. He made six of his 12 shots from the field, including four of eight shots beyond the three-point line.

Joining Owens on the Portsmouth Sports Club team is fellow Conference USA Stars Corey Santee of TCU and Quemont Greer of DePaul. Greer came off the bench to register 19 points and five rebounds. Santee scored eight points and handed out a game-high nine assists. Chuck Hayes of Kentucky also scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Portsmouth Sports Club.

North Carolina's Jackie Manuel scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed six rebounds for Beach Martin Ford.

The Portsmouth Sports Club team will play against the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in the semifinals of the Portsmouth Invitational tonight at 8:00 p.m. (Central). The Norfolk Naval Shipyard includes Aaron Miles of Kansas, Taron Downey of Wake Forest, Omar Thomas of UTEP and Pacific's Guillaume Yango.

The Portsmouth Invitational, in its 53rd year, is a showcase featuring 64 of the nation's top senior men's basketball players to be evaluated by professional scouts. The players are divided into eight teams with eight players on each team. It is the only men's college basketball post-season event held before the Chicago Draft Camp in June.

The championship game for the Portsmouth Invitational is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (Central) on Saturday, April 9. The third-place game will be at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.