Gilberto Clavell led Sam Houston (9-8, SLC 2-2) with 26 points and seven rebounds. Josten Crow added 23 points and Marcus Williams scored 12. Texas State (7-10, SLC 2-1) was led by Ryan White with 22 points.

The Bearkats led 49-45 at intermission and were up 83-77 with 5:24 to play after a free throw by Williams. But the Bobcats, who went 27-of-37 from the free throw line fought back to take the lead on a Travis Jones three-point shot with 3:48 to play.

Texas State turned in one of its best 3-point and free-throw shooting nights of the season to pull away for a 95-91 victory over Sam Houston State.

In what is becoming a reoccurring theme in San Marcos, the Bearkats (2-2 in SLC, 9-8 overall) battled foul trouble and got away from their bread and butter, which is defense.

Texas State  shot 52 percent from the field and was 10 of 22 (46 percent) from behind the arc.

The Bobcats have caused Sam Houston fits over the years with the same kind of formula at home. Last season, Texas State, which finished fifth in the Southland Conference, upset the champion Bearkats 101-97 in overtime in the regular-season finale.

In 2008, the Bobcats, who failed to make the SLC tournament that season, also won a track meet in overtime at Strahan, 96-93.

"It's real hard when defensively, they are the way they are," SHSU head coach Jason Hooten said about the Bobcats, who came into the contest with the league's second-ranked scoring offense and worst scoring defense. "We have different styles and different philosophies and we didn't stick to ours tonight. Ours is field goal defense and we gave up 52 percent. We have been giving up 35."

The Bearkats, who also shot 52 percent from the field, grabbed a six-point lead at 83-77 with 5:26 to go when senior Gilberto Clavell, who scored a game-high 26 points, hit two free throws and junior Marcus Williams went 1 of 2 from the line.

But over the next three minutes with Clavell rotating in and out because of foul trouble, Sam Houston struggled offensively. Texas State, on the other hand, took advantage of the free throw bonus and knocked down some key shots to take control of the game.

Ryan White, who led the Bobcats with 22 points, J.B. Conley, who scored 19, and Travis Jones, who went 5 of 10 from 3-point range, led a 13-2 run to put Texas State up for good at 90-85 with 2:20 left to play.

The Bobcats, who came in shooting 30 percent from behind the arc and 62 percent from the line, closed the game out at the free-throw line where they went 27 of 37 (73 percent) in the contest. White connected on a pair of shots from the stripe with 11 seconds left after Sam Houston senior Josten Crow, who scored 23 points, drained two free throws to cut the lead to 93-91.

"We had some calls go against us, but that happens on the road," said Clavell, who scored 18 points in the second half and fouled out with three minutes left in the game. "We didn't rebound well. It was crazy. We didn't execute. There are no excuses. We didn't play good enough to win."

The Bearkats were in control for most of the contest and led by as many as 11 midway through the first half when junior Marcus James, who scored six points, including a pair of dunks, hit a jumper to make it 18-7.

Sam Houston did not give up the lead until Jones drilled back-to-back 3s with just under 16 minutes remaining in the game to put the Bobcats on top 57-55. The Bearkats answered to go back up 62-59 thanks to a trey by senior Lance Pevehouse and a 15-foot jumper by Crow.

It was tight the rest of the way until Texas State went on its big run.

"I don't really know what to say. We just didn't stop them," said Williams, who finished with 12 points. "It doesn't matter how they play. We have to play how we play. We got good shoots, we just didn't stop them."

The Bearkats stay on the road for their next contest. Sam Houston heads to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for a 7 p.m. tip on Saturday.

The Bearkats return to Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum for a showdown with 2011 Southland Conference favorite Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday, January 26. The 7 p.m. contest marks a rematch of last year's Southland tournament final in which SHSU knocked off SFA to earn an NCAA "March Madness" berth in New Orleans.

The Kat-Jack "Piney Woods" matchup January 26 is The Villas On Sycamore "Spirit Night" with great prizes up for grabs by students who compete in a contest to show their Bearkat spirit.

Prizes include a Sony Bloggie video recorder, a Coolpix S4000 touch screen digital camera and an IPAD. The first place contestant will take a half court shot for an even bigger prize during a timeout in the second half.

Tickets for all Sam Houston home athletic events are on sell now online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the SHSU athletic ticket office in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.