BY CODY STARK - HUNTSVILLE ITEM
The Bearkats sure know how to keep their cool.
After seeing a 23-point lead dwindle down to single digits in the second half, Sam Houston State again rose to the occasion and made the plays down the stretch.
The result was also the same as usual. The Bearkats extended their Southland Conference winning streak to 11 games to remain unbeaten in league play with a 66-54 victory over Lamar at the Montagne Center on Wednesday night.
Despite 22 turnovers, Sam Houston (19-5) dominated the glass and held the Cardinals (5-6 in SLC, 14-13) to only 33 percent shooting from the field.
Senior forward Preston Brown poured in 19 points and grabbed 11 boards, while junior forward Gilberto Clavell snapped his scoreless streak against Lamar with 18 points.
"We didn't take care of the basketball tonight, that's for sure," SHSU head coach Bob Marlin said. "But our guys made winning plays at the end of the game. ... We have confidence that we are going to take charge of the game when the game is on the line."
The Bearkats took charge in the first half, jumping out to a 33-16 lead by holding Lamar to 6 of 29 (21 percent) shooting from the field.
The second half started the same way. Clavell, who failed to score in the previous meeting with the Cardinals, a 90-63 SHSU win in Huntsville on Jan. 27, hit a pair of baskets and Josten Crow and Brown buried 3-pointers to push the lead to 43-20 at the 17:19 mark.
That's when the turnovers hit and Lamar came storming back. Justin Nabors, who scored 19 points, sparked an 18-3 run with a jumper to pull the Cardinals within 46-38 with 12:25 to go.
Sam Houston turned the ball over 12 times in the first half and 10 more in the second, which Lamar turned into 19 points.
"The past two games we have been struggling with turnovers," said SHSU senior point guard Ashton Mitchell, who had eight points and six turnovers. "Today, we really got them going by giving up fastbreaks off our turnovers. When we started the year off we were doing pretty good taking care of the ball. We just need to clean it up a bit."
Most teams might have panicked watching a big lead disappear in a hurry on the road in a hostile environment, especially at a place like the Montagne Center where the Cardinals were 13-2 this season.
That didn't happen to this Bearkats squad.
Brown banked in a 3 to get Sam Houston started on an 8-2 run. He also had a play similar to the big shot he made to help the Bearkats pull out an 84-79 road win at Southeastern Louisiana on Jan. 16.
With Crow at the free-throw line with just over six minutes to go, Brown grabbed a rebound on the second shot and dropped it in for an easy layup to put SHSU up 59-45.
Junior guard Lance Pevehouse also made a clutch shot in the final three minutes. He knocked down a trey, his only bucket of the night, to make it 66-51 and seal the win.
"We had some letdowns, but we kept playing and playing hard and it paid off," Brown said. "We had some open looks, knocked down some shots and put the game away at the end."
Senior guard Corey Allmond added nine points for the Kats, who shot 46 percent (24 of 52) from the field and 43 percent (9 of 21) from behind the arc. Sophomore guard Drae Murray chipped in five points and Crow finished with four.
"We have confidence shooting the ball," Marlin added. "That to me is one of the biggest reasons we have done well in the league, because I believe we are one of the best shooting teams."
The Bearkats continue this road swing with a big game Saturday night against Texas-San Antonio at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners (5-6, 15-9) got a huge boost toward their SLC tournament hopes with a 57-56 victory at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (7-4, 13-12) on Wednesday.
Following the regular season, the top eight teams meet at Merrell Center in Katy for the annual Southland Conference tournament March 10-13 to decide the league's NCAA playoff representative. Sam Houston is the only team in the Southland that has already clinched a tournament berth.
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.
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.
