Milwaukee
Bearkats win in Milwaukee to go 5-0
11/27/2007 1:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MILWAUKEE, WS ? Jeremy Thomas and Shamir McDaniel each hit a pair of free throws in the final 24 seconds to enable Sam Houston State to hold off Wisconsin-Milwaukee and earn an 81-77 road non-conference men's basketball victory to run the Bearkats' season record to 5-0.
The five consecutive victories represent Sam Houston State's best season start since 1980 when the Bearkats started 6-0. The contest was SHSU's first road game of the 2007-08 season.
Ryan Bright scored 14 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Reggie Rawlins also had a big game for the Kats, pouring in 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Bright and Rawlins weren't the only ones getting in on the action Tuesday night. Five players scored in double figures for Sam Houston with Thomas scoring 13 and McDaniel and James Barrett each chipping in 11.
The Bearkats opened the game strong. After watching the Panthers score the first four points of the game, SHSU stormed back scoring 13 straight. The lead by as many as 11 during the opening 20 minutes and took a 37-31 lead at the half.
Midway through the second half, the Panthers put together a run. With the Bearkats leading 41-34, Milwaukee went on a 10-0 run to take a three-point lead. Thomas ended the run with a 3-pointer. The game was back-and-forth for the next few minutes with Milwaukee building as much as a five point lead.
With the Kats trailing 53-50, Thomas hit another 3-pointer to tie the game once again. Bright hit a 3 to tie the game at 59 and a dunk by Rawlins gave the Kats the lead back with 7:41 left to play. The Panthers answered right back However with Anthony Hill hitting a 3-pointer to give Milwaukee a 62-61 lead.
With 6:34 left to play and the Kats down by one, Barrett picked up an offensive rebound and put it back in to give the Kats a lead they would never relinquish. In the final minutes of the game, the Kats hit 7-of-10 free throws to seal the victory.
"We hit some shots early and defended well," Head Coach Bob Marlin said. "Wisconsin-Milwaukee came back to go up five with eight to play and kind of got the crowd into it. But we got the lead back, changed defenses, and made some plays down the stretch to win. "
Sam Houston State hit 26-of-60 field goal attempts to shoot 43 percent. The Kats were 19-of-30 from the free-throw line.
Paige Paulsen led Wisconsin-Milwaukee with 25 points as the Panthers also went 26-of-60 from the field for 43.0 percent shooting, the highest percentage allowed by the Bearkats this year.
Sam Houston State returns home to play host to Hardin Simmons Thursday at 7 p.m.
