By Cody Stark - Huntsville Item Assistant Sports Editor
Things looked grim for Sam Houston State during a stretch in the middle of the first half Wednesday night. But the Bearkats kept their composure and let the good times roll.
Senior guard Corey Allmond sparked a 19-4 run with a key 3-pointer with 6:22 to go in the opening period as Sam Houston State demolished Texas State 95-64 at Johnson Coliseum.
Nothing was going right for the Bearkats (3-0 in SLC, 11-5 overall) after they jumped out to a 6-0 lead. Shots weren't falling and the Bobcats rallied to go up 24-18 thanks to a jumper by Emanuel Bidias A Moute at the seven-minute mark.
But Allmond, senior guard Ashton Mitchell, sophomore guard Drae Murray and junior guard Josten Crow all scored to put the Kats back on top 28-24. Junior forward Gilberto Clavell scored the next four points, including a two-handed dunk off a steal to help SHSU take a 43-31 lead into the half.
The Bearkats shot a blistering 63 percent from the field in the second half, while holding Texas State to 29 percent shooting.
"We just had to settle down, that's all," said Allmond, who finished with a game-high 22 points. "A lot of us were rushing our shots. I know I rushed a few. When things go bad, you can't keep whining about it. That is what we tried to do. We just kept fighting, knocked down some shots, got some stops and our defense turned it on."
Sam Houston couldn't catch any breaks as the Bobcats seized the momentum with a 9-0 run to go up 9-6. Texas State junior Ryan White had the hot hand early, scoring 10 of his team-high 15 points in the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Kats trailed by six three times before Allmond's 3 cut it to 24-21. Mitchell, who scored 19 points, followed with a layup to cut it to a one-point game. Murray came right back with a reverse layup to give SHSU its first lead of since the 15:41 mark.
Texas State managed to break a 16-0 run with a pair of free throws by Jonathan Sloan with 3:46 left in the half. But Allmond scored eight points in the final two minutes, including a steal and a layup at the buzzer.
The Bearkats never looked back.
"We have the capability of striking quick just like Southeastern (Louisiana) last week," SHSU head coach Bob Marlin said. "When teams really shoot the 3 and you hit a couple back to back and get a couple of turnovers, then you have that capability. Our team certainly does."
It was the Bearkats' defense that really got the ball rolling. Texas State only managed two field goals in the final seven minutes of the first half.
Sam Houston was even better in the second half. The Bobcats hit just 10-of-34 shot attempts. The Bearkats also forced 21 turnovers and turned that into 32 points.
Clavell (12 points) and Mitchell each hit a pair of free throws to put SHSU up 61-45 with 13 minutes left.
Sophomore forward Antuan Bootle, who ripped down a game-high 12 rebounds, followed with two more free throws and Mitchell buried a 3 to give the Kats their first 20-point advantage at 66-45.
Junior forward Preston Brown added 12 points and six boards as Sam Houston won its third straight contest. Crow added eight points, Lance Pevehouse scored seven and Bootle chipped in six.
"Coach has been preaching to us about keeping people under 40 percent (shooting) defensively," Mitchell said. "The past couple of years we have been knocked out of the (conference) tournament because we gave up 50 percent. As a team collectively, we have been coming into these games trying to hold teams to the lowest field goal percentage as possible.
"We knew this was going to be a tough game with them because they like to get out in transition and shoot the ball a lot. We just really stepped on them to finish the first half and I think that gave us momentum for the second half."
The Bearkats return to action Saturday when they head to Texas-Arlington to face the Mavericks at 7 p.m.
Sam Houston State now travels to Arlington to take on the Mavericks of UT-Arlington at 7 p.m. Saturday at Texas Hall. The game will be broadcast live on KSAM 101.7 FM and on-line at www.gobearkats.com.
Tickets for all Sam Houston State home men's basketball games are on sale on line at www.gobearkats.com or at the Bearkat athletic ticket office. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729.
