By Cody Stark - The Huntsville Item
The intensity and effort were there. For some reason or another, the shots just aren't falling for Sam Houston State right now.
Despite shooting only 33 percent from the field, the Bearkats fought tooth and nail before Houston took advantage of free throw opportunities in overtime as the Cougars pulled away for a 75-71 victory at Johnson Coliseum on Saturday.
Sam Houston (4-2) had a pair of one-point leads in overtime when senior Lance Pevehouse knocked down a 3-pointer with just under four minutes to go and junior Marcus James hit a free throw at the 2:13 mark.
But the Bearkats missed their next four shots and Houston (5-3) went 9 of 10 from the line down the stretch to seal the win.
Senior forward Gilberto Clavell scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Sam Houston, while junior guard Drae Murray was 4 for 7 from long range and finished with 13 points.
Freshman forward Kendrick Washington was a load inside for the Cougars, recording a double-double with 21 points and 11 boards. Senior guard Zamal Nixon also scored in double figures for Houston with 14 points.
"We have tough kids with a lot of character and I'm proud of their effort today," SHSU head coach Jason Hooten said. "Except for this past Wednesday, that has been our effort every time out, and I expect that will be our effort the rest of the year. We just have to get better offensively. You can't shoot 33 percent and win most games.
"Hats off to Houston. They matched our intensity pound for pound. They just made a few more plays than us today."
The Bearkats had their chances to win the game in regulation. Down 56-55 with 5:56 to go, Murray buried a 3 to put Sam Houston up.
Washington responded with a three-point play and Darian Thibodeaux drilled a base-line jumper to give the Cougars a three-point lead with 4:13 left.
Sam Houston hit 17 of its 23 free throw attempts in the game and got to the line three times over the next two and a half minutes. But three of the misses came during that span and the Bearkats were only able to tie it at 61.
Washington scored a layup that just made it through the basket as the shot clock expired to put Houston up 63-61 with 55 seconds left in the second half. Hooten pleaded for a review of the play by the officials, but it was declined.
"They told me that it got out of his hand before the light came on," the coach said. "You can't check that. Maybe that is one of the things I should know or knew, but I got caught up in the moment. They said it was not reviewable, but they were very affirmative in their answer that the ball had gotten out of his hand before the light went off."
Clavell answered with a pair of free throws to knot the game back up.
Sam Houston came up with a big defensive stop in the final seconds and Pevehouse grabbed a defensive rebound and pushed the ball down the court to junior forward Antuan Bootle. But the big man couldn't get a shot off in time to send the game into overtime.
The Bearkats just couldn't get anything to fall in the extra period, going 2 for 10 from the floor.
"We were trying to establish getting the ball inside to (Clavell) and working off him," Murray said. "We were able to get our feet set and get wide-open shots, tonight we just didn't knock in some of the ones we needed to hit. We missed a few of the big ones that didn't go our way, but we will bounce back and knock those in next time."
Those shots were falling for Sam Houston in the first half and at the beginning of the second.
Murray hit a trey to send the game into the half with the Kats down 39-36 and he drilled another to tie the game coming out of the break. Clavell hit back-to-back shots to give Sam Houston a 43-39 lead.
Washington kept it close with two baskets, but sophomore forward Aaron Thompson hit a jumper and a trey and junior guard Marcus Williams found the bottom of the net as the Bearkats took their biggest lead of the game at 50-43 with 12 minutes to go.
It was short-lived, though. The Cougars got three free throws from sophomore Nick Haywood, a layup from senior Adam Brown and a 3 by Thibodeaux to reclaim the lead at 51-50.
Sam Houston forced 21 turnovers and turned it into 20 points. The Bearkats also hit eight 3s as compared to two by Houston.
The Cougars only made one more field goal, but the difference came at the free throw line. Houston was 25 of 32.
"One of the things that we wanted to do was play the game inside out," Cougars head coach James Dickey said. "That opens up the perimeter for us and the other thing is that it helps us get to the bonus, get the one-and-one and double bonus. We got a lot of free throws in the game and we made a lot. That is part of our game."
The Bearkats will get another shot at Houston in a couple of weeks when the two clash at Hofheinz Pavilion on Dec. 21.
In the meantime, Sam Houston has two more tough matchups at home against North Texas on Wednesday and Cleveland State on Dec. 11 before a road trip to Florida International on Dec. 18.
"The thing about this game is that even though we lost, we got better," Clavell said. "We did get better, but still, a loss is a loss. We have to get through it and forget this game even though it will be hard. We have to forget this game and get ready for North Texas on Wednesday."
Next action for the Bearkats is Wednesday, Dec. 8, when the Kats host North Texas in a 7 p.m. matchup.
Prior to the game with the Mean Green, the Kats' 2010 Southland Conference championship banner will be raised in a special pregame ceremony.
SHSU's four-game home series ends Saturday, Dec. 11, with a 3:30 p.m. contest with Cleveland State. Dec. 11, it's "Kids Day" at Johnson Coliseum for the 3:30 p.m. tilt with Cleveland State. Students and children 17 years old and younger are free with one paid adult. Up to four kids will be admitted free with each adult.
Tickets for Sam Houston men's basketball are on sale now online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets .
Fans also may purchase tickets 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.
