By Cody Stark
Assistant Sports Editor, Huntsville Item
The Bearkats rose to the occasion Saturday, while Stephen F. Austin withered under the pressure.
Sam Houston State got clutch baskets down the stretch from Preston Brown, Ashton Mitchell, Antuan Bootle and Josten Crow and held the Lumberjacks without a field goal in the final seven minutes to secure a 66-57 victory at Johnson Coliseum.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak and got the Kats (9-5) off to a 1-0 start to Southland Conference play. SFA (0-1, 10-4) lost for just the second time in its last 11 games as the Lumberjacks saw their four-game winning streak come to a close in the only regular-season meeting between the two rivals.
"In the second half we didn't rebound the way we needed to and they got some second-chance opportunities and were able to convert those," SHSU head coach Bob Marlin said. "Down the stretch we made enough stops. We changed our defense up a little bit, played a little zone, then came back with a different man-to-man. It paid off for us."
The Bearkats had a 29-17 lead when senior guard Corey Allmond hit his only field goal of the game with three minutes left in the first half. SFA closed the period with a 5-0 run to cut the advantage to seven at the break.
Sam Houston sputtered on offense to open the second half as the Lumberjacks got baskets from Eddie Williams, who finished with 20 points, Will Reinke and Jordan Glynn to take their first lead since the opening minutes at 39-38.
The Bearkats couldn't get anything to fall from the outside, going just 4 of 18 from 3-point range in the contest, but the inside game of junior forward Gilberto Clavell carried the load.
The Collin County Community College transfer scored SHSU's next 10 points and hit a baseline jumper at the 7:22 mark to put the Kats back on top 48-45. Clavell finished with a game-high 21 points and added 12 boards.
"In the second half we came strong," Clavell said. "The first five minutes we missed a couple of shots, then we came back. I hit a couple of shots, Crow got rebounds and we just outhustled them. We wanted it more."
Crow was a monster on the boards, finishing with a game-high 14 rebounds to match his points total. But it was his offense that stole the show with the game in the balance.
Brown (six points), Mitchell (11 points, nine assists and four steals) and Bootle (four points and four boards) each hit shots to spark a 6-0 run to put the Kats up 54-49.
The Lumberjacks answered with a pair of free throws by Williams, but again Brown and Mitchell combined to score five straight points to push the lead back to 59-51.
Point guard Eric Bell knocked down two shots at the line to get SFA back to within six. Crow then delivered the dagger with a 3 at the 2:23 mark to make it a nine-point game.
"It is real important to get off to a good start in conference," said Crow, who scored the final three points of the game. "Last year they hung one on us, so we had it on our minds for a little while. We have been a little inconsistent, but it is time to put that to rest."
The game was more of a defensive struggle in the first half. The Bearkats hit only 35 percent of their shots from the floor and were 3 of 12 from behind the arc, two of which came from junior Lance Pevehouse, who finished with eight points.
The Lumberjacks shot 36 percent and the only reason they were able to stay with in striking distance was the play of Williams and Jereal Scott, who combined to score 16 of SFA's 22 first-half points.
The game turned into a track meet in the second half. The Bearkats shot a blistering 52 percent and the Lumberjacks weren't far behind at 46 percent.
But Sam Houston took better care of the ball (two turnovers in the second half) and made defensive stops late to seal it.
"Sam Houston outplayed us in the first half, and we were outplaying them in the second half until the last five minutes of the game," SFA head coach Danny Kaspar said. "We couldn't buy a shot and they hit some clutch shots. It comes down to that. The rebounds were even.
"We did have six more turnovers than they did and that right there could be the difference in the game. I thought both teams played hard, but I think Sam Houston played a little more poised throughout the game than we did."
Sam Houston State next travels to Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond where the Kats will play Saturday. Next home game for the Sam Houston men is Wednesday Jan. 20 when the Kats play host to Texas State at 7 p.m. in Johnson Coliseum.
Tickets for all Bearkat sports events are on sale now on-line at www.gobearkats.com. Fans also may contact the Sam Houston 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.
