Men's basketball faces Lamar in Beaumont Wednesday
2/16/2010 4:10:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 - 7 p.m.
Montagne Center - Beaumont, Texas
Radio: KSAM 101.7 FM
SAM HOUSTON STATE BEARKATS
Overall Record:
Won 18, Lost 5 - Southland : Won 10, Lost 0
Head Coach:
Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Sam Houston: Won 218, Lost 128
Top Scorers:
Gilberto Clavell, 6-7 post, 16.2 pts., 6.1 reb.
Corey Allmond, 6-1 guard, 16.0 pts.
Ashton Mitchell, 5-11 guard, 12.5 pts., 5.0 ast.
LAMAR CARDINALS
Overall Record:
Won 14, Lost 12 Southlan: dWon 5, Lost 5
Head Coach:
Steve Roccaforte (Lamar, 1989)
Record at University: Won 63, Lost 55
Top Scorers:
Anthony Miles, 6-1 guard, 14.2 pts.
Justin Nabors, 6-7 forward, 13.7 pts.
Kendrick Harris, 6-1 guard, 11.6 pts.
SETTING THE STAGE
Off to a 10-0 start in Southland Conference play for the first time ever, Sam Houston already has clinched a berth in the 2010 State Farm Southland Conference Post-Season Classic at the Merrell Center in Katy March 10-13. The Kats now have a three-game lead and the tie-breakers over their two closest rivals (A&M-Corpus Christi and Stephen F. Austin) in the race for the No. 1 seed at the tournament. Sam Houston has six games left on the regular season schedule with four on the road and only two at home. This week the Bearkats travel to Lamar for a rematch with the Cardinals Wednesday and to Northwestern State for their only meeting with the Demons in 2010.
20-VICTORY SEASONS
Sam Houston is two victories away from their fourth 20-win season in the last five years. Only 66 teams in NCAA Division I men's basketball had posted 20-win seasons in three of the last four years going into the start of the 2009-10 schedule. Of those 66 teams, Sam Houston ranked 36th in winning percentage with an 84-39 record from 2006 to 2009.
SAM HOUSTON VS. LAMAR SERIES RECORD
Lamar leads the all-time series with the Bearkats 29-22. However, Sam Houston owns a 13-7 advantage over Lamar in regular season games since the Cardinals returned to the Southland Conference in 1999. The Bearkats defeated the Cardinals 90-63 in Huntsville on Jan. 27 in the pair's first meeting this season. Last year, the two teams split with Sam Houston winning 112-105 in double overtime in Beaumont and Lamar taking the Huntsville contest 60-57.Sam Houston is 6-21 against Lamar in Beaumont including the worst loss in Bearkat basketball history (a 126-57 loss in 1990-91). The Kats have won three of their last four trips to the Montagne Center. Bob Marlin is 13-8 against Lamar as Sam Houston's head coach.
BEARKATS OFF TO 10-0 START IN SOUTHLAND ACTION
Sam Houston's 10-0 Southland Conference record marks the first time in the Kats' 23-year conference history they have been unbeaten after their first 10 league games. The 10-0 mark also is a school record for longest Southland winning streak. The 2003 conference championship team rolled up nine consecutive SLC victories before the string was ended in a road game at Louisiana-Monroe. Overall, the 2003 team ran off 10 wins in their streak including a non-conference victory over A&M-Corpus Christi. The 1986 Bearkats ran off 20 consecutive victories on the way to a berth in the NCAA Division II regionals. The 1973 Sam Houston squad went 28-0 before falling in the second round of the NAIA National Tournament at Kansas City.
LAST GAME
Gilberto Clavell scored 30 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead Sam Houston State to a 90-74 men's basketball victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday night.
In a match-up of the number one and two teams in the Southland Conference, the victory kept Sam Houston unbeaten in league play at 10-0 and gave the Bearkats a three-game lead over the Islanders. The win also clinched a berth in the 2010 State Farm Southland Conference Post-Season Tournament in Katy March 10-13.
Sam Houston never trailed. Up by two 24-22 with 8:29 in the first period, the Bearkats finished the half with a 28-9 run to go up 52-31 at intermission. The Kats led by as many as 26 points early in the second half on a layup by Clavell at the 17:58 mark. The closest the Islanders could cut the lead was a 13-point margin at 10:51 on a basket by Marcus Hammonds.
Four other Sam Houston players scored in double figures as Corey Allmond hit 15, Josten Crow 14, Drae Murray 12 and Ashton Mitchell 10. The Bearkats hit 35-of-59 (59.3 percent) from the field while the Islanders were 29-of-61 (47.5 percent). Sam Houston outrebounded TAMUCC 32-29 as Clavell and Preston Brown each grabbed eight boards. Watt had six rebounds for the Islanders.
PREVIOUS MEETING WITH THE CARDINALS
Corey Allmond scored 24 points to lead Sam Houston to a 90-63 Southland Conference men's basketball victory over Lamar January 27 in Huntsville. Allmond and fellow senior Ashton Mitchell combined for 38 points.The game got off to a slow start, but the Bearkats jumped on the Cardinals early thanks to Allmond. The first-team All-SLC selection scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the first half.
Allmond scored 11 straight SHSU points to help the Bearkats build a 23-12 lead when he knocked down the second of his four 3-pointers at the 11:34 mark. Lamar cut the advantage to nine thanks to a bucket by Lawrence Nwevo 14 seconds later, but never got closer than 11 the rest of the way. The Kats took a 48-31 lead into the break. The Cardinals came out and knocked down some shots to start the second half, but Sam Houston answered.Senior forward Preston Brown hit a pair of 3s and Allmond added another to put the Kats up 62-42 at the 15:30 mark. Sam Houston hit 31 of 58, or 53 percent, from the field in the contest while holding Lamar to 20 of 55 (36 percent).
The Kats also controlled the glass, out-rebounding the Cardinals 41-31.The Bearkats controlled every aspect of Wednesday night's win and led wire to wire despite playing most of the game without two of their top post players.
Leading scorer Gilberto Clavell got into early foul trouble. He fouled out midway through the second half and failed to score for the first time this season. Sophomore Antuan Bootle also got into foul trouble, but managed to finish with eight points and 11 boards in 15 minutes. With those two on the bench, several players stepped up for Sam Houston. Brown finished with 12 points and six boards. Freshman forward Aaron Thompson and junior Josten Crow both added seven points, while junior guard Lance Pevehouse chipped in nine points.
HIGH-SCORING BACKCOURT DUO
Senior guards Corey Allmond and Ashton Mitchell comprise the highest scoring backcourt duo in the Sam Houston's 23 years at the NCAA Division I level. The two players (who are roommates off the court) have combined for 28.7 points per game this season. Roommates off the floor, Allmond and Mitchell now both rank among Sam Houston's top 35 all-time leading scorers. Allmond stands No. 35 with 827 points in two years while Mitchell is No. 22 with 978 points, 22 away from becoming the 21st Sam Houston player to total 1,000 career points.
DEFENSE A KEY FOR THE BEARKATS
When the Bearkats have played solid defense this season, success has followed. In Sam Houston's 18 victories, the Kats have held opponents to 63.4 points and a field goal percentage of .398. In the Bearkats' five losses, opponents have averaged 87.8 points and shot .572.
BEARKATS HAVE POSTED BIG WINS THIS SEASON
Sam Houston's non-conference victories this year include wins over Auburn, Oral Roberts, Rider and Florida International. The victory over Auburn was the Kats' first ever over a Southeastern Conference opponent. The wins over ORU and Rider earned Sam Houston the Mayan Division championship at the Cancun Challenge in Mexico during Thanksgiving week.
SAM HOUSTON'S TOP PLAYERS
COREY ALLMOND
* 5th in the Southland Conference in scoring (16.0)
* Leads the Southland and stands 14th nationally in three point field goals per game (3.0)
* Southland "Player of the Week" after scoring career high of 37 points against No. 4 Kentucky in November.
* Set a Rupp Arena, Southland and SHSU record with 11 treys at Kentucky.
ASHTON MITCHELL
* Leads the Southland Conference with 5.0 assists per game
* 22 points away from becoming the 21st men's basketball player to score 1,000 career points
* Southland "Player of the Week" Nov. 30 after leading Kats to Mayan Division Championship of the Cancun Classic with victories over ORU and Rider
GILBERTO CLAVELL
* Transfer from Collin County who has made an immediate impact for the Bearkats this season
* No. 4 in Southland Conference scoring (15.6)
* Leads the Bearkats in scoring in Southland Conference play (17.0)
* Two-time Southland "Player of the Week" after scoring 34 points in 107-89 victory at Auburn Dec. 20 (Sam Houston's first victory over an SEC foe) and totaling 21 points and
JOSTEN CROW
* Playing in a starting role this year after two years as a reserve
* No. 1 in the Southland and No. 4 nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.2)
* No. 3 in the Southland in assists (3.9)
PRESTON BROWN
* Started 10 times for the Bearkats as a forward this season
* Fourth on the Sam Houston squad in scoring (8.6)
LANCE PEVEHOUSE
* Three-point scoring threat off the bench
* Third on the team in treys this season (27)
DRAE MURRAY
* No. 3 in the Southland in assists (3.9)
* Averaging 17.8 minutes as Bearkats backup at point guard
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE POST-SEASON TOURNAMENT
The top two teams from both divisions, plus the next four remaining teams with the best records will advance to the Merrill Center in Katy for the annual post-season SLC tournament to decide the Southland's NCAA playoff representative. The tournament begins on Wednesday March 10 with four quarter-final games. The semi-finals will be played Thursday night March 11. The finals will be televised live on ESPN2 on Saturday March 13.
Tournament ticket booklets for the annual State Farm Southland Conference Post-Season Classic March 9-13 at the Merrell Center in Katy are now on-sale for $75 online at SHSU Ticket Office or by calling 936-294-1729. The Sam Houston athletic ticket office is located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
SAM HOUSTON BASKETBALL TICKETS
Tickets for Bearkat basketball home games are on sale now on-line. 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. Ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.
