CLEVELAND, OH - Preston Brown and Lance Pevehouse both scored 13 points to lead Sam Houston in an 80-65 loss to Cleveland State Saturday night at the Wolstein Center.
The contest marked the second of four games the Bearkats will play in the Cancun Challenge. The next two games will be played Tuesday and Wednesday in Cancun, Mexico.
Norris Cole led Cleveland State with 24 points. Trevon Harmon added 16 points as CSU upped its season record to 3-1.
"We played poorly and we did not execute," Sam Houston head coach Bob Marlin said. "We trailed at the beginning 17-2. We fought back and got it to 34-28 thanks to a big spark off the bench from Lance, Drae Murray and Preston. Those guys really came in and gave us a boost."
Sam Houston State (2-2) had another strong effort from beyond the three point arc, hitting 11 of 22 treys. Corey Allmond, who set a Rupp Arena record with 11 three point baskets in a 102-92 loss at No. 4 Kentucky Thursday night, only went 2-for-8 from three point range as he collected 11 points. But both Pevehouse and Brown were 3-for-5.
The Bearkats out-rebounded CSU 32 to 28 with Brown pulling down seven boards and Antuan Bootle grabbing six.
Cleveland State hit 53.2 percent from the field (25-of-47) and 72.4 percent from the line (21-of-29) while the Bearkats were 22-of-55 (40 percent) from the field and 10-of-15 at the line (66.7 percent).
Josten Crow scored eight points and Gilberto Clavell had seven.
Cleveland State never trailed in the contest, jumping out to an 8-0 lead and going up 43-36 at halftime.
Sam Houston will play Oral Roberts Tuesday in Cancun at 12:30 p.m. The Kats will face either Rider or Florida A&M on Wednesday.
The next home game for the Bearkat men will be Monday, Nov. 30, at 7:30 p.m. against Mid-America. Attending the contest can help Sam Houston students earn a free T-Shirt.
The first 500 SHSU students to attend any combination of three home men's or women's basketball games will win a Bearkat basketball t-shirt courtesy of Student Activities and Bearkat Athletics.
Attendees will be tracked via the BearkatOneCard. For the purposes of the promotion, the men's and women's basketball doubleheader on Monday, November 30, will count as one event only. Sam Students receive free admission to BEarkat home games on presentation of their BearkatOneCard.
Huntsville area fans can purchase tickets on-line now at www.gobearkats.com or by contacting the Sam Houston State athletic ticket office at the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729.
