Men's basketball takes on Wright State
12/25/2009 11:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Sam Houston State plays the first of a pair of post-Christmas holiday road contests Monday night when the Bearkats travel to meet Wright State in Dayton, OH. The Kats will complete their 2009-10 non-conference schedule on Sunday, Jan. 3, when they play at Western Michigan.
Sam Houston State's road game at Wright State on Dec. 28 can be viewed free on horizonleaguenetwork.tv through the following link on the Wright State channel - http://www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv/wright-state.html
The Bearkats sport a three-game winning streak that includes the Bearkats' first victory over a team from the Southeastern Conference. The Kats knocked off Auburn Sunday 107-89. Tuesday they defeated FIU 93-63.
Wright State owns an 8-4 record after a Tuesday night victory over Arkansas-Little Rock. The Raiders and the Bearkats share one common opponent. Wright State defeated Cleveland State in Dayton Dec. 3 73-64 while the Bearkats fell to CSU in Cleveland 80-65 on Nov. 24.
The Raiders are led in scoring by 6-5 Todd Brown (14.8 points per game), 6-3 Vaughn Duggins (13.6) and 6-3 Troy Tabler (13.1).
Sam Houston State and Wright State met for the first time last year in Huntsville with the Bearkats winning 84-65 on Nov. 29, 2008. Corey Allmond hit 4-of-5 from three point range for 22 points and Ashton Mitchell added 14 for the Kats. Duggins led Wright State with 16 points.
Gilberto Clavell scored 20 points and Preston Brown added 15 as Sam Houston State outscored the Golden Panthers 51-26 in the second half to spark the Bearkats to a 93-63 non-conference men's basketball victory over FIU Tuesday night. Also scoring in double figures for Sam Houston (8-3) were Corey Almond with 14 and Josten Crow and Antuan Bootle both with 11.
Trailing by as many as four points in the first half before building a 42-37 lead at intermission, the Bearkats got hot in the second period. Sam Houston went 19-of-25 from the floor for 76 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes. The half was the Kats' best 20 minutes of shooting this season.
For Clavell, the performance marked the junior's fourth game in a row to score 20 or more points. Clavell became the third Sam Houston State player to earn Southland Conference men's basketball "Player of the Week" Honors after his 34 point perforamce at Auburn on Sunday Dec. 20
The 107 points for Sam Houston in the Auburn victory mark the second highest single game point total for the Bearkats against an NCAA Division I non-conference opponent. Sam Houston scored 112 points in a victory over U.S. International in 1989. The total marked the Bearkats' first 100-plus point performance since scoring 112 points in an overtime victory at Lamar last year.
Through last Tuesday, with Clavell and Allmond, the Bearkats have the only two players in NCAA Division I men's basketball to score 34 or more points in one game this season.
Sam Houston is led by the highest scoring backcourt duo in the program's 22 years at the NCAA Division I level. Corey Allmond and Ashton Mitchell combined for 27.8 points per game last year and are pairing for 29.6 points per contest this season.
Allmond, a 6-1 senior from Oxon Hill, MD, was Southland men's "player of the week" after setting the Adolph Rupp Arena, Southland Conference and Sam Houston school record with 11 three-point baskets in SHSU's 102-92 loss at No. 4 Kentucky. His 37 points against the Wildcats ranks as the second-highest single game scoring total by a Bearkat against an NCAA Division I opponent.
Bearkat point guard Ashton Mitchell earned Southland Conference men's basketball player of the week honors for the week of Nov. 23-28. He averaged 22.0 points and 6.0 assists to lead Sam Houston to the Mayan Division Championship at the Cancun Challenge in Mexico with victories over Oral Roberts and Rider.
Mitchell's 28 points against Rider helped Sam Houston overcome a first half in which it never led. In the two games, Mitchell shot 61.5 percent (16-for-26) from the floor and connected on 6-of-10 three pointers. Following the tournament Mitchell was named the MVP of the Cancun Challenge Mayan Division.
Following Sam Houston's trips to Wright State and Western Michigan, the Bearkats will open Southland Conference action against defending league champion Stephen F. Austin on Saturday Jan. 9 at Johnson Coliseum. The game will be featured in a Southland TV telecast at 2 p.m. and is the opening league contest for both teams.
Tickets are on sale on-line now at www.gobearkats.com.
