DENTON ? A last second shot from DeLuis Ramirez sailed long as the Sam Houston State Bearkats fell on the road to North Texas 68-66.
Barkley Falkner was at the line with 4.3 seconds remaining shooting a pair of free throws that could tie the game. He missed both shots, but Ramirez pulled down the offensive rebound. However his potential tying shot missed. Falkner had a shot as the clock ran out but couldn't get the ball up.
The game was slowed by a constant barrage of whistles with 49 fouls called on both teams and the two shooting a total of 66 free throws. The Kats finished 17-of-30 for the night from the line while North Texas converted on 21-of-36 attempts.
Ashton Mitchell had a career night for the Bearkats leading all scorers with 23 points. His previous best output was a 19-point effort last season against Lamar. The Kats also got a double-digit scoring effort from Ramirez who finished the night with 13 points.
“Ashton Mitchell played very well and got us the lead in the first half,” Sam Houston State head coach Bob Marlin said. “But in the second half we were nine-for-28. We out rebounded them by nine, but the turnovers got us.”
The Bearkats took a six-point lead into the half, but couldn't hold on, mainly on hot shooting from North Texas. The Mean Green hit 57 percent of their shots from floor in the final 20 minutes while the Kats connected on 32 percent in the second half.
SHSU also turned the ball over 20 times in the game with North Texas turning it in to 28 points. On the flip side, the Kats managed just 10 points on 14 Mean Green miscues.
Sam Houston State will be back in action Dec. 9 at home against Texas College followed by a Saturday contest against Jarvis Christian. Both games will tip at 7 p.m.
