ARLINGTON ? Three Bearkats scored in double figures, including 15 from DeLuis Ramirez as Sam Houston State rolled to a 79-65 win over Texas-Arlington on Wednesday night on the stage at Texas Hall.
Ryan Bright added 14 points and Shamir McDaniel scored 11 as the Kats picked up their 20th win of the season for the fifth time under head coach Bob Marlin. Sam Houston has posted 20 or more victories each of the last three seasons. Never before have Bearkat squads had three consecutive 20-victory seasons.
The two teams were back-and-forth in the early going, with UTA taking a 15-14 lead seven minutes into the game. Bright hit a three to get the Kats (20-6, 8-5 SLC) back in the lead and they never looked back. Bright's basket sparked a 14-0 run by SHSU.
In the first half the Kat led by as much as 16, but UTA was able to cut that in half by the break. The Bearkats started the second half strong, however, with Ashton Mitchell knocking down a 3-pointer as well as picking up a steal and a layup, to give the Kats a 49-34 lead.
A 3-pointer by McDaniel just five minutes into the second half put the Kats up by 20.
SHSU dominated the glass outrebounding UTA 44-34 including a 31-16 advantage on the defensive boards. Ramirez was in double figures rebounding as well, pulling down 11.
The Kats hit 44 percent of their shots from the floor including 7-of-18 from outside. They also got the job done at the line, knocking down 28-of-31.
“John Gardiner got off to a great start and hit his first three shots,” SHSU head coach Bob Marlin said. “We hit some timely shots early. Ashton hit one, Ryan hit one and DeLo (Ramirez) came in and gave us some nice energy. It was a team effort tonight.”
It was the kind of start the Bearkats needed, coming off a 22-point loss to rival Stephen F. Austin last week. Bright and Gardiner really set the tone early, combining for 19 points in the first half.
“I felt better and didn't feel like I was forcing shots like I have been this season,” Bright said. “I was just letting things come to me. That's how I need to play, and I was left open a lot so I took a smooth stroke and fortunately they went in.
“John did the same thing. He has been doing a good job down in the low post and he did that again tonight.”
Just as Bright and Gardiner did in the first, McDaniel was the heavy hitter in the final period. He hit three consecutive 3-pointers to put SHSU up 58-38 at the 14:50 mark.
“They were trying to trap us and we turned the ball over a few times toward the end of the first half,” McDaniel said, “so they thought it would work in the second half. We did a good job of getting the ball downcourt and they left me wide open. Bright and DeLo did a good job of driving inside and kicking it out to me.”
“I don't think we scored a basket the last 12 minutes of the game,” Marlin added. “We don't score a field goal and we win by 14? So, that shows you how important they were tonight. We shot the ball well tonight, and those free throws were huge. Hopefully, we can continue this down the stretch.”
The Bearkats will return home on Saturday to take on Texas State-San Marcos in a game scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
