Sam Houston men travel to Nicholls Wednesday
2/9/2010 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Stopher Gymnasium - Thibodaux, LA - 6:30 p.m.
Radio: KSAM 101.7 FM
SAM HOUSTON STATE BEARKATS
Overall Record: Won 16, Lost 5 Southland Record: Won 8, Lost 0
Head Coach: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Sam Houston: Won 216, Lost 128
Overall Coaching Record: Won 339, Lost 163
Top Scorers:
Corey Allmond, 6-1 guard, 16.2 pts.
Gilberto Clavell, 6-7 post, 15.8 pts., 6.1 reb.
Ashton Mitchell, 5-11 guard, 12.3 pts., 4.1 ast.
NICHOLLS COLONELS
Overall Record: Won 7, Lost 15 Southland Record: Won 3, Lost 6
Head Coach: J. P. Piper (Southeastern Louisiana, 1991)
Record at University: Won 60, Lost 108
Top Scorers:
Anatoly Bose, 6-6 forward, 21.4 pts., 6.3 reb,
Fred Hunter, 6-5 guard, 13.7 pts. 5.4 reb.
Chris Iles, 5-11, guard 10.0 pts.
SETTING THE SCENE
Last season, Sam Houston State brought a seven-game Southland Conference winning streak into a home game with Nicholls. The Colonels ended the string of consecutive victories with a 60-59 win over the Bearkats. One year later, Sam Houston takes an 8-0 Southland record into Thibodaux, LA, If the Kats can slip past the Colonels this year, they will tie their Southland best nine-game winning streak of 2003 (the year SHSU won the both the league record season and tournament titles to advance to the NCAA). Sam Houston is 9-12 all-time against the Colonels in Thibodaux
SAM HOUSTON VS. NICHOLLS SERIES RECORD
Sam Houston holds a narrow 22-20 edge over Nicholls in the all-time men's basketball series between the two universities that began in 1979-80. The Colonels defeated Sam Houston 60-59 in Huntsville last year, only the second time in their pair's last 12 meetings Nicholls has earned a victory over the Bearkats.
THE BEARKATS' 8-0 START IN SOUTHLAND ACTION
Sam Houston stands 8-0 in Southland play this year, the first time their 23 years in the conference that the Bearkats have won their first eight league games. This year's eight consecutive conference victories stands as the second longest Southland winning streak for Sam Houston. Nicholls stopped last year's Bearkat streak of seven wins with a 60-59 victory over the Kats in Huntsville. The top Sam Houston men's basketball SLC winning streaks are:
* 9 consecutive wins - 2003 (championship season)
* 8 consecutive wins - 2010
* 7 consecutive wins - 2000 (championship season) and 2009
* 6 consecutive wins - 2005 and 2007
LAST GAME
Five Bearkats scored in double figures as Sam Houston 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. Gilberto Clavell scored 15 to lead Sam Houston. UCA's Chris Poellnitz was the game's leading scorer with 31 points including 5-of-10 from 3-point range. Three point shooting kept the Bears in the game as Central Arkansas (7-15, SLC 1-8) went 10-of-20 from beyond the arc. UCA hit 9 of their first 13 treys.
Sam Houston led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but UCA closed the margin as the Kats led by just five at intermission 41-36. The Bears took a brief four-point lead, 46-42 on a 3-pointer by Jared Rehmel with 16:40 to play. But Sam Houston jumped back in front 48-47 on a lay-up by Lance Pevehouse with 13:52 to play. The Bearkats never trailed again, but could not put UCA away as the Bears kept the contest close until the end. Other players in double figures for Sam Houston were Corey Allmond and Preston Brown with 13 points, Antuan Brown with 12 and Josten Crow with 11.
HIGH-SCORING BACKCOURT DUO
Senior guards Corey Allmond and Ashton Mitchell comprise the highest scoring backcourt duo in the Sam Houston's 23 years at the NCAA Division I level. The two players (who are roommates off the court) have combined for 28.5 points per game this season. The duo paired for 27.8 points last year.
Mitchell and Allmond both are making their marks on the Sam Houston basketball record book this season. Mitchell is 50 points away from becoming the 21st Bearkat man to score 1,000 points in his career. The senior point guard stands No. 27 in all-time SHSU scoring with 950 career points in 113 games.
Mitchell also ranks third in Sam Houston career assists with 502. Only Scott Horstman (813 in 1981-84) and Boney Watson (569 in 1997-2000) have posted more assists.
Allmond ranks No. 2 all-time at Sam Houston in 3-point field goal percentage (.427), No. 5 in total career 3-pointers (164) and No. 5 in career scoring average (15.7).
DEFENSE A KEY FOR THE BEARKATS
When the Bearkats have played solid defense this season, success has followed. In Sam Houston's 16 victories, the Kats have held opponents to 62.4 points and a field goal percentage of .391. In the Bearkats' five losses, opponents have averaged 87.8 points and shot .572.
SAM HOUSTON OWNS 428-GAME TREY STREAK
Sam Houston State has hit at least one three-point basket in 428 consecutive games. That figure includes all the Kats' games under Bearkat head coach Bob Marlin.The last time Sam Houston did not hit a three-point basket in a game was on Feb. 9, 1995 against Southwest Texas State.
BEARKATS HAVE POSTED BIG WINS THIS SEASON
Sam Houston's non-conference victories this year include wins over Auburn, Oral Roberts, Rider and Florida International. The victory over Auburn was the Kats' first ever over a Southeastern Conference opponent. The wins over ORU and Rider earned Sam Houston the Mayan Division championship at the Cancun Challenge in Mexico during Thanksgiving week.
SECOND "WINNINGEST" TEAM IN TEXAS IN 21ST CENTURY
Since the new century began with the 1999-2000 season, the only NCAA Division I men's basketball program in Texas that has won more games than Sam Houston State has been the Texas Longhorns. UT has won 270 games in the 12 seasons since 2000 while the Bearkats have totaled 206 victories.
MARLIN WINNINGEST SOUTHLAND ACTIVE COACH
Sam Houston's Bob Marlin is only the second head coach in the history of the Southland to post more than 200 coaching victories. The Bearkats' record of 216-128 in Marlin's 12 seasons since his first year in 1998-99 stands as the best in the Southland over that time span. Mike Vining, head coach at Louisiana-Monroe from 1983 to 2005 compiled a 383-291 record from 1983 to 2005 to rank as the Southland's "winningest" head coach. Ironically, Vining is the man who gave Marlin his first coaching job after graduation from Mississippi State in 1981. Marlin served as Vining's graduate asssistant as NLU won the 1982 TransAmerica Conference championship.
KATS ARE SOUTHLAND PRESEASON FAVORITES
Sam Houston State received the most votes and most first place votes in the annual Southland Conference preseason head coaches' poll. The Bearkats were tabbed to repeat as Southland West Division champions with 61 points and seven first place votes. Defending 2009 regular season and tournament champion Stephen F. Austin was selected as the East Division favorite with 58 points and five first place votes. The Bearkats have finished among the top three teams in the Southland standings six of the last seven seasons. Sam Houston won the Southland Conference regular season in both 2000 and 2003. In 2003, the Kats won the Southland tournament to advance to the NCAA tournament against Florida.
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE POST-SEASON TOURNAMENT
The top two teams from both divisions, plus the next four remaining teams with the best records will advance to the Merrill Center in Katy for the annual post-season SLC tournament to decide the Southland's NCAA playoff representative.The 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.
Sam Houston will be seeking to earn its 13th berth in the Southland Post-Season Tournament. The Bearkats have been tournament participants for seven consecutive years. Sam Houston won the Southland tournament championship in 2003, finished as runner-up in 2006 and has won a spot in the semifinals five times.
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 _
Only a limited number of reserved seats for the three games remain, so fans need to act now.
To order the three reserved seats for $15 "Saturday Night Southland Conference Ticket Package," go on-line at www.gobearkat . To buy tickets go to the three games for $15 link.
BEARKAT BASKETBALL TICKETS
After the game Wednesday at Nicholls, the Bearkats will play 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.
