Northwestern Oklahoma State
Bearkat inside game sparks 90-68 victory Monday
11/15/2010 10:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
After a slow start, where Sam Houston State trailed Northwestern Oklahoma State by seven points five minutes into the game, the Bearkats pulled through for a 90-68 victory on Monday night at Johnson Coliseum.
Six Bearkats scored in double figures, including all five starters. Gilberto Clavell led all scorers with 20 points, adding 10 rebounds in only 22 minutes of action. Lance Pevehouse scored 15 points, with two momentum-swinging 3-pointers in the second half.
Josten Crow followed up his double-double performance on Saturday with a well-rounded 11 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Transfer guard Nafis Richardson came off the bench to add 11 points.
"It was a little bit like Saturday night," SHSU head coach Jason Hooten said. "There were some good things and some bad things and that's what's to be expected at the beginning of the year. We've got a lot of new faces. It's not that easy just rolling it out there and everything falling into place. We have a lot of good players and we need some time. We've got to get in more practice."
Point guard Drae Murray opened the game with a lob to Clavell, which he converted and drew the foul. Murray and Clavell practiced the play often during the week. But the momentum didn't carry over for the Kats.
In the first half, SHSU shot only 2-of-12 from behind the arc and 52 percent from the free-throw line. The first period saw seven ties and six lead changes before the Kats went into the break clinging to a 46-40 advantage.
"They came out and pressured us, when we were supposed to be pressuring them," Crow said. "Defensively, we have to still get better, hold each other accountable and get better each game. They came out and played a tough first half. The second half, it opened up a little bit. We started sticking to our fundamentals and got the win."
The Kats had trouble securing the ball early, with 10 turnovers in the first half. In the second half, they turned up the defensive intensity and forced the Rangers into 10 turnovers.
One of Crow's three steals was followed by a one-handed slam to extend the lead to 73-59 with a little more than six minutes to play.
Clavell went down with cramps early in the second half, but he returned to knock down a wide open three, before he went down again. SHSU managed to rally without him, though. Crow's dunk capped an 11-4 run.
"After halftime, we talked about it and said we would jump on them," Pevehouse said. "It's important to set the tempo early. If you don't set it early, you never know if you're going to get it."
Hooten and his staff look to improve as the season progresses. The Kats shot poorly from the free-throw line and totaled 19 turnovers for the game, but the energy on defense carried the load with seven steals and four blocked shots.
"We're trying to build step by step," Hooten said. "It's like a puzzle. If you have a big puzzle box and put it out on the floor, it's not going to piece itself together. You have to put it in piece by piece. We've tried to put in everything a team may do to us, so we can try to react.
"I was disappointed a bit in the first half when we gave up 40 points. But at halftime, I went in and told them (the Rangers) were going to score 28 points in the second half. That's all we were giving them and that's what they got."
SHSU resumes action on Nov. 23 when they travel to Austin to face the Texas Longhorns.
The Bearkat men begin a four-game home stand with Saint Thomas on Wednesday, Dec. 1. Also included in the home stand are contests with the University of Houston Saturday, Dec. 4; North Texas Wednesday, Dec. 8 and Cleveland State Saturday, Dec. 11.
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.
