Southland's defending division champs face-off Saturday
1/7/2010 5:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Stephen F. Austin is the league's defending champion and received five first place votes and 58 points as Southland East Division favorites in the coaches' poll in October. Sam Houston is the coaches' pick to successfully defend its West Division title with seven first place votes and 61 points.
Sam Houston went 8-5 in pre-conference play while SFA brings a 10-3 record into Saturday's opener. The Lumberjacks own a four-game winning streak and their only misstep in their last 10 ten contests was a 72-69 loss at Arkansas.
The Jacks and the Bearkats are opening Southland play for the second year in a row. Last year SFA edged the Kats 75-73 in Nacogdoches. Sam Houston won their next seven in a row and ended 12-4 in Southland action.
SFA is led by 6-2 Eddie Williams with 14.2 points per game while 6-5 Walt Harris adds 12.2 per contest.
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 are pairing for 27.8 points per contest again this season.
Allmond, a 6-1 senior from Oxon Hill, MD, leads the Southland and stands No. 11 nationally in threes per game with a 3.5 average. He is averaging 16.6 points per game. The past two seasons, Allmond has scored in double figures 34 times including a career high of 37 at Rupp Arena against No. 4 Kentucky.
Mitchell, a 5-11 three-year letterman from New Orleans, became the fifth point guard under Marlin to lead the Southland and rank in the top 10 nationally in assists in 2009. This season he is averaging 10.8 points and 4.3 assists.
Both were named as two of the five first-team players on the 2010 Preseason All-Southland Conference team. Both also have earned Southland "Player of the Week" honors this year.
Gilberto Clavell, a 6-7 junior college transfer from Collin County, has made an immediate impact, averaging 15.6 points and leading the Kats in rebounding with a 5.8 average. He has scored in double figures in nine games including 34 points in the win at Auburn.
Preston Brown, 6-6 senior forward from Stringtown, OK, who averaged 9.9 points and 4.9 rebounds last year as a transfer from Cowley County, is the team's fourth leading scorer this season with a 9.3 average.
Josten Crow, a 6-4 junior from Houston, has stepped into a starting role this season after coming off the bench his first two years. Crow ranks second in the team in rebounds (5.4) and is adding 7.1 points per contest. He is one of the squad's top defenders.
Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin are meeting on the basketball court for the 181st time Saturday. The Lumberjacks hold a narrow 92-88 lead in the series that began in 1924. Since Bob Marlin became head coach of the Bearkats in 1998-99, Sam Houston is 16-7 versus the Jacks. The Bearkats rolled off six consecutive victories over SFA from 2005 to 2008 but SFA has won the last two meetings.
Stephen F. Austin won last year's Bearkat-Lumberjack game 75-73 at William R. Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches. The Kats had a chance to tie the game with seven seconds remaining but missed a layup. Preston Brown led Sam Houston with a career-high 22 points. Four other players scored in double figures: DeLuis Ramirez (12), Corey Allmond (11), Mitchell (10) and Pevehouse (10) also scored in double figures. The game was tied six times and had seven lead changes.
As part of a new tradition to introduce the area to a great family Saturday afternoon entertainment bargain, Sam Houston offers fans the "Family Pack" which consists of four general ddmission tickets, four hot dogs, four popcorns and four sodas - a $52 Value for just $28.
A minimum of four tickets must be purchased. Additional tickets may be purchased at $7 each.
Fans can purchase a "Family Pack" in advance online at www.gobearkats.com or at Johnson Coliseum the day of the game.
The Bearkat athletic ticket office is located in the Ron Mafrige Field House in the south end zone of 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.
