Ecclesia
Men's basketball downs Ecclesia 69-40 Saturday
12/12/2009 5:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Cody Stark, Huntsville Item
HUNTSVILLE - Junior post player Gilberto Clavell went 8-for-11 from the field to score 21 points and lead Sam Houston State to a 69-40 non-conference men's basketball victory over Ecclesia College of Springdale, AR, Saturday afternoon at Johnson Coliseum.
The undersized Royals (9-6), who were coming off a 32-point loss to Prairie View A&M on Friday, had no answer for Sam Houston's inside game. The Bearkats outscored Ecclesia 26-8 in the paint despite only shooting 39 percent from the floor.
Clavell was aggressive underneath the basket. He went 5 of 5 from the free-throw line, three of which came at the end of three-point plays.
Senior guard Corey Allmond went 3 of 8 from behind the arc to finish with 15 points and senior forward Preston Brown scored 11.
"We didn't shoot the ball well, but we were able to get the ball inside," Bearkats head coach Bob Marlin said. "Our post players, especially Clavell, were able to finish at the rim, which was nice. They were patient with their offense and milked the clock, and because of that and our poor shooting, we got off to a slow start."
The game was slow for most of the first half. Sam Houston finally started to open up a lead when Clavell muscled his way to the basket for a layup, was fouled and knocked down the free throw to make it 19-10 with eight minutes to go.
The Royals cut the lead down to 26-18 with a 3-pointer by Cody Wilmath at the 1:35 mark. But Allmond got hot, hitting a floater in the lane, knocking down a trey and dazzling the crowd with a reverse layup at the buzzer to send Sam Houston into the break up 33-18 with a 7-0 run.
In the loss to Louisiana-Lafayette last Saturday, the Bearkats struggled to begin the second half and saw an eight-point lead quickly turn into a two-point deficit when the Ragin' Cajuns went on a 16-6 run en route to a 95-85 win.
That wasn't the case this time around. Thanks to defense, Sam Houston went on a 12-2 run out of the break to build a 45-20 advantage when Brown missed a free throw, but got the rebound and scored a layup with 13:57 left in the period.
The Bearkats held Ecclesia to just 38 percent shooting in the victory.
"The last game we played here against Louisiana, we came out poor in the second half. That was why we lost," Clavell said. "We didn't execute nothing. That was the key. Coach told us that the first five minutes of the second half were the most important.
"So, we came hard, started executing and got to the basket. We got it done."
It was ultimately the inside game that got it done Saturday. The Bearkats only shot 21 percent from long range, going 6 of 28.
Sam Houston also destroyed the Royals on the boards. The Bearkats outrebounded Ecclesia 45-27, including a 22-6 advantage on the offensive glass, which led to 19 second-chance points. Josten Crow led the Bearkats with eight rebounds.
"We needed to get off to a quicker start in the second half, and Clavell and Preston Brown got us some baskets and some free throws," Marlin said. "We were able to get some separation. Besides not shooting the ball well, we did have 22 offensive boards."
Another thing the Bearkats really took advantage of Saturday was turnovers. Sam Houston forced the Royals into 18 giveaways and turned it into 25 points.
On the other hand, the Kats only turned the ball over eight times and Ecclesia failed to score on any of the miscues.
"For us coming in, the big things were shot selection and taking care of the basketball," Royals head coach J.D. Parker said. "We held them to 39 percent field-goal shooting, so for the most part I felt like we did what we needed to do on defense. If we wouldn't have given up 25 points on turnovers, it might have been different.
"But all respect goes to them. They are on their level and that is something they should do to us. This was really fun for our guys. It's neat to have our name scroll across the screen on ESPN. We really want to thank coach (Marlin) for having us."
Sam Houston State will break for finals this week and return to action Sunday, Dec. 20 with a road game at Auburn. The Bearkats will play their final home game before Christmas break on Tuesday, Dec. 22 when they will host former NBA all-star Isiah Thomas who now coaches Florida International in a 7 p.m. game at Johnson Coliseum.
Tickets for the game are on-sale now on-line at www.gobearkats.com or by contacting the Sam Houston State athletic ticket office located in 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.
