Corpus Christi - Despite a season high 30-point performance from 6-7 senior forward Gilberto Clavell, the Sam Houston men's basketball team fell 70-68 to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday night.
Clavell hit 11 of his 18 shots and added eight points from the charity stripe as the Bearkats fell to 9-8 for the season and 2-3 in Southland Conference action.
The Islanders were led by Garland Judkins with 17 points.
The game was close from wire to wire and was tied 31-31 at intermission.
Sam Houston's biggest lead was six points as Nafis Richardson scored on a jumper to put the Kats up 47-41 with 12:31 to play in the game.
A free throw by Clavell gave Sam Houston its final leader as the Kats went up 65-63 with 3:22 remaining.
Hollis Hill hit jump shots with 2:09 and 1:28 to play to put the Islanders ahead to stay 69-65.
Marcus Williams was the only other Bearkat in double figures, scoring 13 points. Lance Pevehouse added eight points.
With his 30 points, Clavell upped his two-year career scoring total to 921 points. The senior is 79 points away from becoming the first junior college transfer to score 1,000 career points for the Bearkats in two years of action at the NCAA Division I level.
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 $10,000 during a timeout in the second half.
