Four seniors play final home game
3/4/2008 1:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Four seniors who have had a hand in leading Sam Houston State to an 82-37 overall record the past four years including three consecutive 20-plus win seasons play their final home game at Johnson Coliseum Wednesday at 7 p.m. when SHSU hosts Texas-San Antonio.
Sam Houston State is only the second team in Southland Conference history to put three 20-plus victory seasons back-to-back. Only Lamar, which had five consecutive 20-win seasons from 1980 to 1984 has bettered SHSU's feat these past three years.
Ryan Bright, Shamir McDaniel, Jeremy Thomas, and John Gardiner will be honored in special pregame ceremonies Wednesday.
Three are four-year lettermen.
Bright ranks fifth in NCAA Division I men's basketball in rebounds with 11.2 boards per game. The Deer Park product scores 11.2 points per contest. He ranks fourth in Sam Houston career rebounds with 926 boards and eighth in career scoring with 1,376 points. He is a three-time Academic All-Southland Conference selection and was named Southland men's basketball Student-Athlete of the Year in 2007.
Shamir McDaniel leads the Bearkats in scoring with 12.2 points per game. He ranks 4th in SLC three point shooting. The Converse Judson product was SLC "Player of the Week" after leading the Kats with 18 points in their victory over Texas Tech.
McDaniel, who received his bachelor's degree in marketing in August, is a two-time Academic All-Southland Conference selection with a 3.24 overall grade point average.
Bright and McDaniel were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Six team compiled by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). District Six includes all NCAA Division I universities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. As All-District selections, the five members of the team now will be listed on the national CoSIDA ballot for the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America squad. The pair were joined on the team by D. J. Augustin of Texas, Paulius Packevicius of Rice, and Ryan Wedel of Arkansas State.
Thomas, 6-0 guard, is averaging 6.8 points per game. A solid player each of the four seasons and a team leader, Thomas is an Academic All-Southland selection with a 3.49 overall grade point average majoring in health. Thomas hit two free throws in the final seconds of overtime in Sam Houston's 60-58 victory over Central Florida in the Kats' final non-conference contest this year. He was the leading scorer in the Bearkats' victory over Texas State-San Marcos last Saturday.
Gardiner, 6-8 post, is adding 6.4 points and 5.0 rebounds as starting post player. Gardiner came to Sam Houston as a transfer from Grayson County Community College. His inside prescence was been an important factor in the Bearkats' success this season. Gardiner is from Mesopotamia on the island of Saint Vincent. Gardiner received his bachelor's degree in criminal justice in August.
Sam Houston State enters Wednesday game with Texas-San Antonio in the hunt for one of the top three seeds in the Southland Conference tournament. With two games remaining, Lamar leads the league with a 12-2 record, Stephen F. Austin ranks second at 11-3, and the Bearkats third with a 9-5 league mark.
Texas-San Antonio is 7-7 in Southland action and 13-13 overall.
Sam Houston State owns a 21-6 record in 2008, marking the first time in Bearkat history men's basketball has put together three consecutive 20-plus win seasons. SHSU went 22-9 in 2006 and 21-10 in 2007. Sam Houston has won 20 or more games in one season 13 times. Five of those 13 years, Bob Marlin was the Kats' head coach.
The highest annual victory total was 28 in 1973. That team went 28-1, winning 27 in a row before falling in the second round of the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City.
Sam Houston State is 13-2 at home in Johnson Coliseum and 8-4 on the road this season. During Bob Marlin's 10 seasons as head coach, the Bearkats are 109-24 at home in Johnson Coliseum
The Bearkats' four seniors (Ryan Bright, Shamir McDaniel, Jeremy Thomas, and John Gardiner) are 51-8 at Johnson Coliseum and 30-28 on the road the past four years.
