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Player suspended for stepping on Wildcat's face

'I never meant to step on him,' says Coleman of incident involving Budinger

HOUSTON - Conference USA suspended Houston guard Aubrey Coleman one game Monday for violating the league’s sportsmanship policy when he stepped on another player during the Cougars’ game at Arizona.

Coleman, the team’s second-leading scorer, was ejected Saturday after stepping on the face of Arizona’s Chase Budinger following a charge call with 9:51 left in the game. Arizona went on to win 96-90 in overtime.

On Sunday, Coleman issued an apology, saying he never meant to step on Budinger.

Conference USA said Monday that according to their policy, instances of flagrant misconduct require suspension.

Coleman will serve his suspension on Wednesday, missing the Cougars’ game against UTEP.

“The University of Houston has always and will continue to uphold the highest levels of sportsmanship in every respect,” Houston athletic director Dave Maggard said in a news release.

“We apologize to the University of Arizona, its basketball team and to the Tucson community for what occurred Saturday evening. Aubrey will be suspended for Wednesday night’s game, and we now consider the matter to be closed.”

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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