By Cody Stark, Huntsville Item
HUNTSVILLE - Five Bearkats scored in double figures as Sam Houston State extended its Southland Conference men's basketball record to 8-0 with a gritty 75-70 victory over Central Arkansas Saturday night at Johnson Coliseum.
The Bearkats took the best UCA had to offer Saturday night, but the outcome was the same as the previous seven games.
Overcoming a rough offensive patch to start the second half, the Kats knocked down some clutch shots down the stretch and upped their overall mark to 16-5.
Gilberto Clavell led Sam Houston with 15 points, while Preston Brown and Corey Allmond each scored 13.
The Bears (1-8 in SLC, 7-15) got a career-high 31 points from Mitch Rueter and hit 10 of 20 from behind the arc. But it wasn't enough to stop the streaking Kats.
"We knew Central Arkansas would come in and give us their best shot and they did," SHSU head coach Bob Marlin said. "This was their Super Bowl. ... They came in and played extremely hard, they are athletic and I thought they were very good defensively on the perimeter.
"They did a a nice job on Ashton (Mitchell). They disrupted us a little bit on offense and shot the ball well. They are not a great shooting team and went 10 of 20 from 3. That was the reason they had the opportunity to win this game and we are fortunate that we came out on top."
The Bearkats took a 41-36 lead into halftime, but things started to unravel after the break. Sam Houston began the final period 0 for 8 from the field, only managing a free throw from Brown.
The Bears tied the game with a shot in the lane and a 3 from Rueter, then took the lead at 46-42 with a layup from Chris Poellnitz and a trey from Jared Rehmel at the 16:37 mark.
But Sam Houston got back to playing good defense. The Bearkats didn't allow another field goal until just under 10 minutes to go.
Josten Crow (11 points), Clavell, Lance Pevehouse, Brown, Antuan Bootle (12 points) and Mitchell all scored to help the Kats go up 54-47.
"What started it for them was that we came down and didn't run our offense like we should," said Brown, who notched a double-double with 10 rebounds. "We shot some quick shots and they came down and were hitting their shots. They hit a 3 and a two and got the lead.
"We just kept our composure, started playing (defense), locking up on the (defense) and slowed it down on offense."
Central Arkansas made another run and cut the lead to 59-56 on a pair of free throws by Dewan Clayborn.
But Crow answered with a flurry. The junior forward hit a short jumper, then made the play of the game.
It looked like the Bears were going to get a clutch turnover with the ball sailing out of bounds underneath Sam Houston's basket. But Brown was able to save it and the ball bounced right to Crow, who laid it off the glass and drew the foul.
Minutes after the three-point play, Crow buried a 3 to push the lead to 67-58.
"That was a big change in momentum," Crow said. "I think we needed that. Preston always puts his body on the line and that situation proves it. You have to be on your toes."
The Kats held Central Arkansas to only 42 percent shooting in the game and dominated the glass, outrebounding the Bears 43-25.
Three-point shooting did keep UCA in the contest, but Sam Houston countered by controlling the paint. The Bearkats outscored the Bears 36-22 under the basket and scored 14 second-chance points on 12 offensive boards.
"... Our defense was good for a stretch," Marlin added. "We fell behind and it was kind of like the last game we said we never gave up the lead - San Antonio got it to one - but tonight we gave up the lead and came back and got it. That's a good thing. That's a positive sign and we will play better in the future."
The Bearkats hit the road Wednesday to battle Nicholls at 6:30 p.m. before playing host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday night at Johnson Coliseum.
Tickets for Sam Houston men's 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.
Tickets for the annual State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament March 10 through March 13 at the Merrill Center in Katy also are on sale now. Please see the Link to Southland Conference Tournament Tickets _
