HUNTSVILLE ? Corey Allmond scored 20 points and Barkley Falkner pulled down a career high 16 rebounds to lead Sam Houston State to an 89-67 Southland Conference men's basketball victory over Texas-San Antonio Saturday night at Johnson Coliseum.
The Bearkats shot a blistering 55 percent from the field while holding the Roadrunners to 36 percent to remain tied with Stephen F. Austin and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi atop the Southland Conference standings at 9-3.
Junior Corey Allmond led five SHSU players in double figures with 20 points on 4-for-10 shooting from 3-point range. Senior Barkley Falkner turned in his fourth double-double of the season with a career-high 16 rebounds and 12 points.
Freshman Drae Murray had another solid performance with 11 points, going 3-for-6 from long range. Junior Preston Brown added 11 points, and senior DeLuis Ramirez chipped in 10 as the Kats improved to 15-10 on the season.
“The last couple of home games were losses, and we didn't shoot the ball well and that was akward because we have been shooting better on the road than at home,” Allmond said. “It was pretty good for us to come out and knock down a few shots and get that confidence back in our home gym.”
Sam Houston State shook off a 37 percent shooting night in a 60-57 to Lamar on Wednesday by getting off to a quick start Saturday. The Bearkats took the lead for good at 11-6 when junior point guard Ashton Mitchell, who finished with six points and eight assists, scored on a layup and sophomore Lance Pevehouse knocked down a 3 five minutes into the first half.
The Kats kept pooring it on from there. Allmond hit a short jumper to make it 31-23 at the 4:25 mark. Pevehouse, who scored six points, then connected on his second trey of the game 30 seconds later to put SHSU up double figures at 34-23.
In the meantime, Falkner was putting on a rebounding clinic. He finished with 11 boards in the first half, four on the offensive end. The Kats outrebounded the Roadrunners (7-5 in SLC, 16-9 overall) 39-28 and outscored them 44-22 in the paint.
“I was trying to go after all of them,” Falkner said about his career rebounding night. “Playing the 4, I get a running start. They were smaller, so I tried to get everything I could.”
The Bearkats took a 41-26 advantage into the half and pushed the lead to 17 with 16:50 to go when Brown hit a couple of baskets and a free throw. UTSA made it a 13-point game two minutes later when Josh Bonney and Devin Gibson, who led the Roadrunners with 17 points, each knocked down free throws. Sam Houston State answered with a 3 by Allmond and two free throws by Falkner to make it 56-38.
The Kats got the best performance of the season from freshman Antuan Bootle off the bench Saturday night. The 6-7 forward scored eight points and grabbed five boards in 10 minutes of action, including a layup at the 10:44 mark of the second half to give SHSU its first 20-point lead at 67-47.
“I thought Bootle came in and gave us a boost off the bench,” SHSU head coach Bob Marlin said. “Drae played well again and gave him a couple of nice feeds for easy baskets in the first half. We got some good contribution off our bench from Antuan, Drae, Josten (Crow) and Lance.”
The Bearkats locked down the Roadrunners' two leading scorers, Travis Gabbidon and Omar Johnson, who came into the game each averaging more than 13 points. But Sam Houston State held Gabbidon and Johnson to a combined eight points.
UTSA guard Joey Shank kept the Roadrunners in the game in the opening period, going 4-for-5 from behind the arc to score 12 points, but he managed only two points in the second half.
“Two of the three that guarded (Gabbidon and Johnson) are captains,” Marlin added. “Ashton did a good job on Johnson early in the game. Barkley did a nice job on Gabbidon. Gabbidon did hit a 3 in the second half against our zone, but he hasn't been shooting the ball well. Then Josten Crow came in and did a good job on Shank in the second half to close it.
“It was a good defensive effort by all our guys. We didn't get split and they are a hard team to guard because they drive a lot.”
The Bearkats play the next two games on the road. Sam Houston State travels to Lake Charles, La., for a matchup against McNeese State at Burton Coliseum on Wednesday night at 7
