Sam Houston wins important game in San Antonio 73-61
3/1/2007 1:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
From THE HUNTSVILLE ITEM
By Cody Stark Assistant Sports Editor
SAN ANTONIO ? Even though Thursday night's game didn't have any impact on the Southland Conference tournament race, Sam Houston State needed a solid performance to build some momentum heading into championship Saturday.
The Bearkats got off to a slow start against struggling Texas-San Antonio, but they turned up the heat and built a big lead before halftime in a 73-61 victory over the Roadrunners at the Convocation Center.
SHSU senior Jejuan Plair scored a game-high 17 points and dished out three assists, while junior Ryan Bright added 14 and 10 rebounds to help the Kats extend their conference winning streak to nine games.
C.J. Hadley also finished in double-digit scoring with 11 points to go along with eight boards.
The Bearkats (13-2 in SLC, 21-8 overall) now have one game remaining, a showdown with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for the regular-season Southland title and the top seed in the postseason tournament. That game will be played Saturday at 5 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum.
“The score was 6-2 for the longest time, then we went on a streak and led by double digits the rest of the way,” SHSU head coach Bob Marlin said. “We had a chance to get a big lead, but we made some bad decisions and had some breaks go against us to let them get closer. But we played well, and I thought Jejuan Plair had a super night, and we had a lot of guys step in and play well.
“It was a good road win against a team that had nothing to lose. I think it was our fourth straight win here so we will take it.”
The Kats trailed for the first six minutes of the game before Hadley found a lane inside and laid a shot off the glass to give SHSU a 9-8 lead. UTSA (2-13 in SLC play, 6-22 overall) answered with a basket by Keith Spencer, but buckets by James Barrett, Bright, Jeremy Thomas, Reggie Rawlins and Ashton Mitchell led to a 15-0 run that put the Kats up for good at 24-12.
The Roadrunners cut the lead to eight at 33-25 with 15 seconds left in the half thanks to a putback by Dwain Hall. Then with time winding down, Barrett was trapped underneath the basket, but somehow found a way to kick the ball out to Plair, who knocked down a 3-pointer to put SHSU up 36-25 at the break.
“I knew we had to come out and play well against this team,” Plair said. “I know and our team knows they are dangerous and you can't play around with a team like that. You can't take anyone for granted. If you let a team like that hang around it can be a nail-biter.
“I know some people might have been looking ahead to Corpus Christi, but we had a game tonight and remained focused on that.”
The Bearkats came out on fire to begin the second half, quickly building a 20-point advantage thanks to a 15-6 run on baskets by Aaron Wade, Shamir McDaniel and Plair.
UTSA was able to get to the free throw line late in the game and eventually cut the deficit to 10 with 54 seconds left in the contest but never really threatened.
SHSU shot a scorching 51 percent from the field and hit 6 of 14, or 42 percent, from behind the arc. The Bearkats also played solid defense, holding the Roadrunners to 38 percent shooting and only 1 of 19 from 3. Most of UTSA's points came in the paint with forwards Andrew Francis, Hall and Spencer combining for 42 points.
“They were 1 of 19 from 3 and (Kurt) Attaway hit one late in the game,” Marlin said. “Francis and Spencer are pretty athletic inside, and Dwain Hall had a great game. But our perimeter defense was great. We struggled inside at times, but we still held them to 37 percent. Our guys shot over 50 and did what we needed to win the game.”
The Roadrunners came into the contest already having been eliminated from the conference tournament but continued to fight all the way to the end. The Bearkats led by 17 or more for most of the second half but closed out the game with a 13-8 run to prevent a blowout in Attaway and Hall's final home game of their careers.
“Kurt Attaway has been a very good player in this league since his freshman season,” Marlin said of UTSA's talented point guard. “He is an outstanding student, who has a 4.0 grade-point average, and is a competitor. It was a joy to coach against him this past several seasons.”
The Bearkats can now turn their attention to the Islanders and the chance to win their third SLC championship in Marlin's nine seasons at Sam Houston. Not only is the tournament's top seed on the line, but so is a guaranteed spot in the National Invitational Tournament, if for some reason, the SLC champ does not win the league tournament and the automatic bid to the Big Dance.
