By Cody Stark - The Huntsville Item
Chalk it up to opening-game jitters or a bad shooting night, the Bearkats didn't look very sharp Saturday night.
But when push came to shove, talent took over and Sam Houston State pulled away from Mary Hardin-Baylor to hand Jason Hooten a 72-47 victory in his head coaching debut at Johnson Coliseum.
Senior Josten Crow tied a career-high with 21 points and pulled down 13 boards. Senior forward Gilberto Clavell added 15 points despite grabbing two quick fouls in the opening minutes as Sam Houston overcame a 38 percent shooting performance from the field.
"It feels good to get the first game over with," said Hooten, who served as an assistant at SHSU for six years before taking over for former head coach Bob Marlin. "I think we probably had a little jitters tonight, that's all of us including myself."
The Bearkats got off to a rocky start offensively, shooting just 28 percent from the floor and 58 percent from the line in a close first half.
But Sam Houston closed the period with a 10-1 run to go into the break up 30-17. Crow got the rally started with a 3-pointer and senior guard Lance Pevehouse scored on an offensive rebound to make it 25-16.
The Crusaders got a free throw from Sterling Phillips, but Sam Houston forward Aaron Thompson, who finished with eight points, and guard Marcus Williams combined to knock down three free throws before Crow ended the first half with a layup.
UMHB was scrappy and wouldn't let the Bearkats open up the game in the first half. But Sam Houston's defense never let the Crusaders get closer than nine points the rest of the way, holding UMHB to just 22 percent shooting for the game.
"We hard pressed a little bit and that can happen in the first game, but the most important thing is that we got the win," said Crow, who also had five steals. "We missed some free throws and had some turnovers, but that happens some times. For the most part, we played team defense, we played hard and together and we can build off that."
The Bearkats finally started to show signs of life in the second half when Clavell scored a layup and junior forward Antuan Bootle, who grabbed 10 boards, took a charge as Sam Houston went up 34-22.
Junior Drae Murray knocked down a 3 and Clavell scored back-to-back baskets, including a two-handed dunk to help the Kats go up 43-26 with 11 minutes to go in the second half.
Sam Houston redshirt freshman Kelly Lawson, junior transfer Nafis Richardson, Clavell, Crow, Murray and Pevehouse all scored down the stretch to help the Kats build their biggest lead at 72-46 with under two minutes to go in the game.
Sam Houston picked it up in the second half, shooting 46 percent from the field. Both teams combined for 48 fouls (32 for MHBU and 26 for SHSU) and 43 turnovers (MHBU 23 and SHSU 20). Sam Houston totaled 55 rebounds to 49 for the Crusaders.
"We missed some open shots and we struggled on free throws, but we are going to work on that. There just aren't enough hours in the day and we have worked on other things," Hooten added. "One of the things we have really worked on is defense and that showed tonight. That is a good team, a well-coached team, and we held them to 22 percent from the field and 47 points.
"That's our goal. We want to be the best defensive team in the league and we are going to strive for that."
The Bearkats will be back in action Monday night when they host Northwestern Oklahoma State at 7 p.m.
The new "Elite 8" ticket package offers Sam Houston fans the opportunity to see the defending Southland Conference men's basketball champions play eight big home games at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum this season.
The plan gives fans the opportunity to purchase a ticket to seven Saturday night games against NCAA Division I opponents (matchups with Houston, Cleveland State, Nicholls, UTSA, Southeastern Louisiana, A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas State) plus the Stephen F. Austin rivalry game on Wednesday, January 26 - all eight games for the remarkable price of only $50. The "Elite 8" ticket package is on sale now online on www.gobearkats.com/tickets .
Sam Houston follows up its season opener with a non-conference encounter with Northwestern Oklahoma State on Monday November 15 at 7 p.m.
Fans may purchase tickets now online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at 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 is (936) 294-1764.
