Magic number is one for Bearkat men's basketball
2/22/2010 2:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Despite a one-point overtime loss at UTSA Saturday night, the magic number for the Sam Houston State men's basketball team is one.
Thanks to SFA's loss to Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday, all the Bearkats need to clinch at least a share of the Southland Conference regular-season title is one more victory
The Bearkats would also lock up the top seed in the State Farm Southland Conference Post Season Classic in Katy March 10-13 since Sam Houston knocked off the Lumberjacks (8-4, 18-7) in the only meeting between the rivals this season in both squad's league opener.
Sam Houston's first opportunity to win the regular season will be Wednesday when the Kats play host to McNeese State at 7 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum. SHSU also plays at home Saturday night before ending the regular season with road games at Northwestern State and Texas State.
The Bearkats saw their hopes of a perfect Southland record go out the window as Sam Houston had one of those nights when the calls and breaks seem to go in the opposition's favor.
UTSA went 35 of 45 from the free-throw line to hand the Bearkats' their first Southland Conference loss with a 91-90 victory in overtime at the Convocation Center.
The Roadrunners hit only three field goals in the final seven and a half minutes of regulation and overtime combined, but got three free throws from guard Devin Gibson (22 points) to take an 89-87 lead with 13 seconds left.
Sam Houston had a chance to tie the game, but sophomore guard Drae Murray was stripped of the ball on what could have been an easy basket with four seconds left on the clock. The Kats had to foul and UTSA guard Omar Johnson drained two free throws to seal the win.
"It was a gutsy effort by our guys," SHSU head coach Bob Marlin said. "We weren't at full speed. We were in foul trouble and things didn't go our way. I thought we played hard the second half and had opportunities to get it done at the end."
The Bearkats fought hard to send the game to overtime. Senior point guard Ashton Mitchell and senior forward Preston Brown fouled out with more than six minutes left in the period. They both also barely played over 20 minutes in the contest, but combined for 23 points.
With junior forward Gilberto Clavell also in foul trouble and Mitchell and Brown out, the Roadrunners made their move. Morris Smith hit a jumper and Johnson and Gibson both hit a pair of free throws to put UTSA up 67-62.
"We had a lot of calls go against us," said Clavell, who scored 14 points in only 26 minutes before fouling out in overtime. "That happens sometimes on the road. We had four people foul out and you never see that. We just have to be smart. We needed those pieces - Ashton and those guys. We just couldn't flow."
UTSA still couldn't put the Bearkats away. Junior guard Lance Pevehouse (16 points) drilled a 3 and senior guard Corey Allmond took advantage of a Murray steal with a layup to tie the game at 67.
The Roadrunners went up 77-74 on a free throw by Johnson (19 points) with 22 seconds remaining in regulation.
But Murray nailed a 3 with 13 seconds left and Smith missed a point-blank shot at the rim in the closing seconds to send the game into overtime.
"We feel like we have a lot of depth, so when one man goes down the next man steps up," SHSU junior Josten Crow said. "Unfortunately we just couldn't get it done tonight."
Pevehouse was one of those guys who stepped up Saturday. He nailed a 3 to begin overtime, but Johnson answered with two more free throws. Clavell countered with a layup, then the Roadrunners went on a 5-0 run to go up 84-82.
Allmond gave SHSU the lead at 87-86 thanks to a trey with 48 seconds left in the contest. But UTSA closed the game with five unanswered free throws.
The game was ultimately won at the line. The Roadrunners almost shot more free throws in overtime (14) than Sam Houston did for the entire game.
"The disappointing thing is that we outscored them so much in the field and lost by one in overtime. They had one player (Gibson) who shot more free throws (18) than our entire team (17)," Marlin added. "We got out free-throwed by 27 and outscored by 22 from the free-throw line. That is hard. The last three times they beat us out of 12, they have had three guys shoot more free throws than our team.But our guys played hard and despite all that we still had a chance to win."
Besides the opportunity to see Sam Houston nail down its third Southland Conference regular season championship Wednesday against McNeese, Kat fans will also have the opportunity to see Mitchell become the 21st Bearkat to score 1,000 career points. The senior guard from New Orleans is one point shy of reaching the 1,000-point mark for his Bearkat career after scoring 13 on Saturday.
Sam Houston athletic officials are expecting a large crowd at Johnson Coliseum on Wednesday. Student Council is holding a pre-game pep rally outside the building at 5:30 p.m. and as many as 800 students will have the opportunity to win a free apartment lease for a year in the Great Bearkat Shootout following the game.
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.
Admission to Sam Houston State regular season home athletic events is free for students on presentation of their BearkatOne card.
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.
