Men's basketball hosts LeTourneau Saturday at 7 p.m.
11/13/2009 8:15:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ORDER $1 TICKETS TO SHSU HOME BASKETBALL ON-LINE
(Buy Now ... sale ends Saturday at 10 a.m. !!!)
Picked in the preseason polls to be the top team in the 2010 Southland Conference race, the Sam Houston State men's basketball team makes its regular season debut Saturday at 7 p.m. when the Bearkats play host to the LeTourneau Yellowjackets at Johnson Coliseum.
The 2010 Bearkats look to be powered by a high-scoring backcourt which features two preseason All-Southland guards in seniors Ashton Mitchell and Corey Allmond. The pair combined for 27.8 points per game last year to make them the highest scoring backcourt at Sam Houston State since the Kats moved up to the NCAA Division I level.
"We've got an experienced group back with all four of our guards returning," Sam Houston head coach Bob Marlin said. "After losing the opening Southland Conference game to SFA by two points , we won 12 of next 15 games to finish really strong. We were picked to finish third in the division in the preseason poll last year and won the division. We got upset in the first round of the tournament and that did not settle well with these guys. They want to have another good season this year and have a better result in the tournament and getting to the NCAA tournament."
LeTourneau is a member of the NCAA Division III American Southwest Conference. The Yellowjackets are the first of two NCAA foes the Kats will face at Johnson Coliseum in the next three days. Monday at 7 p.m. the Bearkats face the Texas College Steers.
Following the Texas College contest the Bearkats are off on a two-week road trip that will feature competition in the Cancun Classic that will take them to Rupp Arena against the Kentucky Wildcats, a trip to Cleveland State and two games in Cancun, Mexico.
"Our focus is on LeTourneau right now, but certainly that is going to be an exciting trip," Marlin said. "Playing in Rupp Arena against the winningest basketball program in NCAA history will be a thrill for the players. This is going to be a hard trip but it will be an excellent bonding opportunity for this team that will help us down the line in Southland Conference play."
A big question mark for the Bearkats coming into the 2009-10 season is their inside game.
"We lost Barkley Falkner, the leading rebounder in the Southland last year. We have to get an inside guy to take over Barkley's role," Marlin said. "Antuan Bootle has really worked hard during the off-season and has picked up his game. Gilberto Clavell, a junior college transfer, gives us added punch. He is picking up the system quickly. We have two new freshmen Kelly Lawson and Aaron Thompson who continue to improve. Preston Brown is back at 100 per cent after some health problems last season. Arthur Zulu is playing better than ever as well. If we can keep everybody healthy especially our frontline, then we have a chance to accomplish a lot."
Another area the head coach looks for improvement this season is on defense.
"We were not as good defensively last year as most of our past teams," Marlin said. "Two years ago we had an outstanding defense but couldn't score. Last year, we put a lot of points on the board but we were not consistent defensively. Our players realize this and they have worked hard to improve their defensive skills. If we're going to play into March, we're going to have to get better defensively."
$1 general admission and $5 reserved tickets for all men's and women's basketball games in November and December will be made available in a special promotional offer for just 72 hours beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday November 11.
Area fans may purchase tickets online only via www.gobearkats.com for this one-time only opportunity to see any or all of those six contests for just $1 a game.
ORDER $1 TICKETS TO SHSU HOME BASKETBALL ON-LINE
(Buy Now ... sale ends Saturday at 10 a.m. !!!)
For more information on tickets to all Bearkat home athletic events, go to www.gobearkats.com or contact the Sam Houston athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729.
