HUNTSVILLE - On a night when he achieved a personal milestone, all senior Ashton Mitchell wanted to talk about was the team achievement.
Mitchell hit a 3-pointer early in the ball game to push him past the 1,000-point mark for his career. But as Mitchell pointed out, the biggest story of the night was the Bearkats clinching their first Southland Conference regular season title since 2003 with a 74-56 win over McNeese State on Wednesday night.
"I really wasn't thinking about the points," Mitchell said while clutching the game ball. "This was a big win for our team, and I knew the focus was to clinch the championship and everything else would take care of itself."
Mitchell finished the night with 12, but it was Corey Allmond who helped the Bearkats build a 26 point lead at the half. Allmond scored 19 points in the opening 20 minutes on his way to a game-high 22.
"The coaches just told me I needed to come out and shoot better," Allmond said. "I haven't shot very well the last couple of game, so that was a focus for me."
The Bearkats (20-6, 12-1 Southland) and Cowboys played pretty close during the opening 10 minutes of the game. Allmond then started heating up from outside. He hit the second of his four first half 3's at the 12:34 mark which started the Bearkats on an impressive run to close out the half.
A layup my Marco Cooper started the Kats off on a stretch where they scored 29 of the game's next 35 points to build the big lead at the break.
"Thought we played a very good first half of basketball," SHSU head coach Bob Marlin said. "We really played well defensively, and we were getting to the boards. We gave up three offensive rebounds early and so that was a focus for us the rest of the half."
The little used Cooper was a big part of the Bearkats' first-half success. The junior who averages a little more than five minutes a game, stepped in for the Kats and grabbed eight rebounds, including six in the first half.
"Marco came in and gave us a lot of energy," Marlin said. "He was the right guy at the right time for this team. He had a couple of nice rebounds on the offensive glass and was able to turn one into a basket."
Cooper finished with 21 minutes played, scoring four points, four offensive rebounds among his career-high eight, two assists and a steal.
The win clinched the No. 1-seed in the Southland Conference Tournament for the Kats and at least a share of the regular season title. Mitchell was given the honor of accepting the championship trophy from Director of Athletics Bobby Williams.
"That was a great moment," Mitchell said with a beaming smile. "I came here to win a championship and after four years, we were finally able to do it. We know we are not done yet. There is still a lot this team wants to accomplish."
The Kats will be back in action on Saturday again at Johnson Coliseum where they can assure they will be the only team in the Southland hoisting the regular season trophy.
The Southland 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. Go to Southland Tournament Central for more information or by call the SHSU Athletic Ticket office at 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.
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.
