HUNTSVILLE -- Corey Allmond and Gilberto Clavell each scored 21 points to lead Sam Houston State to a 94-69 men's basketball victory over UT-Arlington that clinched an undisputed regular season Southland Conference championship for the Bearkats. 

Sam Houston State jumped on Texas-Arlington early and stepped on the gas in the second half to demolish the Mavericks at Johnson Coliseum. 

Allmond drilled five 3-pointers in the first half to finish with a 21 points as the Kats improved to 13-1 in SLC play and 21-6 overall. Seniors Preston Brown and Ashton Mitchell chipped in 15 and 11 points, respectively.

"I was pleased with the way we started the game," SHSU head coach Bob Marlin said. "In the first half our defense was very good. We were active and talking on screens. We were able to get out in transition and get some shots in. We busted open a close came there when Preston hit a couple of 3s and Corey hit a couple."

Defense was the reason the Bearkats took control of the game early. UTA senior Tommy Moffitt, who finished with 14 points, hit three shots to start the contest and put the Mavericks (8-5, 16-11) on top 6-4.

But Sam Houston quickly seized the momentum. Brown answered with a 3 and Clavell knocked down a pair of free throws. Allmond then picked off a pass and raced down the court for an easy layup. Junior Lance Pevehouse grabbed another steal and dished it to Brown for a trey. Allmond knocked down his first 3 of the night and a steal by Brown led to a two-hand dunk by Clavell. Just like that, Sam Houston was up 19-10. UTA never led again.

"UTA could be the second-best team in the conference. Coming in they had won eight of their last nine," Allmond said. "We wanted to send them a message and the league a message that we are still hungry. No matter what we accomplish, we have the biggest goal in front of us."

That goal would be to win the Southland Conference tournament, which will be held March 9-13 at the Merrell Center in Katy. The way the Bearkats played Saturday, they are going to be a tough team to beat.

Every player who say action scored. Sophomore Drae Murry added seven points and Pevehouse hit two 3s to finish with six. With sophomore forward Antuan Bootle still out with a foot injury and freshman Aaron Thompson missing the game because of a violation of team rules, sophomore Marco Cooper and senior Arthur Zulu turned in some solid minutes off the bench. Cooper scored six points and grabbed seven boards. Zulu added four points, two rebounds and a blocked shot.

"I told (Cooper) today that he had one rebound in six minutes and the other night he had six in the first, and he turns around and gets six rebounds in the second half tonight and hit a couple of baskets," Marlin said. "He and Arthur, that is huge and we need that with Antuan out."

The Bearkats also did a great job of distributing the ball. Sam Houston finished with 30 assists on 33 baskets Saturday. Mitchell finished with seven assists as did Pevehouse, who turned in highlight reel dish when he saved a ball going out of bounds right in front of the UTA bench. 

Pevehouse sent the ball soaring down the court, it bounced then hit off the backboard. Mitchell was there waiting for the easy bucket that put SHSU up 60-36 in the second half. The game was a lot like the contest between the two schools at Texas Hall in Arlington on Jan. 23.

The Bearkats led that matchup 39-24 at the break, but a slow start in the second half allowed UTA to turn it into a game as SHSU held on for a 67-64 victory. That didn't happen this time around despite the Mavericks getting two unanswered baskets to begin the final period from Marquez Haynes and Brandon Long, who each scored 14 points. 

The Bearkats never faltered and turned their 51-28 halftime lead into a 30-point advantage with 4:55 to go when Allmond knocked down a pair of free throws. "Of course we were reminded of (the last game) at halftime," said Mitchell, who scored all 11 of his points in the second half.  "In the second half, we had some defensive lapses, but like everything else, we had to overcome it. We were hitting shots in the second half and tonight we were able to put two halves together."