Huntsville -- Darius Gardner scored 15 points and three other Lumberjacks tallied in double figures as Stephen F. Austin rolled to a 63-49 Southland Conference men's basketball victory over Sam Houston State at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum Wednesday night.
Gilberto Clavell led Sam Houston (9-10, SLC 2-4) with 26 points. The Bearkats jumped out to a quick five-point lead in the first five minutes, but SFA roared back to take a 33-23 halftime lead and go up by as many as 18 points in the second half.
Jereal Scott scored 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds for Stephen F. Austin (12-5, SLC 3-2). Antonio Bostic and Eddie Williams each added 13 points.
Stephen F. Austin shot a blistering 60 percent from the field and Sam Houston State could not get any shots to fall in the second half as the Lumberjacks hammered out a 63-49 victory Wednesday night.
With Clavell battling foul trouble, Sam Houston saw a five-point lead turn into a 10-point deficit at the half. The Bearkats never recovered, hitting just 7 of 21 of their shot attempts in the second half to extend their losing streak to three straight.
"There is not a lot to say to be honest," SHSU head coach Jason Hooten said. "Stephen F. came over here on a mission and they pretty much beat us in every facet. You have to give them credit. I think our guys played hard, maybe we just didn't play through a couple of bad spots there."
In front of an energized crowd of more than 3,000, the Bearkats came out firing thanks to the play of Clavell. He scored 10 of Sam Houston's first 12 points to help the Kats grab an early lead.
But Clavell picked up two quick fouls and had to go to the bench. That's when the Lumberjacks took control of the game.
Sophomore Antonio Bostic and senior Eddie Williams, who each scored 13 points, led a 15-4 run that put SFA up for good at 20-14 with just under eight minutes to go in the first half.
"Foul trouble was frustrating, but you have to play through it," Clavell said. "Coach tells us you have to play through it and play hard. We have to play hard and try to get better every day."
The Bearkats managed just 11 points when Clavell went to the bench. Senior Josten Crow scored five of his nine points during that stretch, but it was not enough as the Lumberjacks increased their lead to 33-23 at the break.
SFA opened the second half with a 5-0 run, including a desperation 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock by true freshman point guard Darius Gardner to push the lead to 15.
The Kats buckled down and got some turnovers, but could not turn it into any points. After shooting 48 percent in the first half, Sam Houston went cold after the break.
There were open looks, the Bearkats just could not find the bottom of the net and finished 0 for 11 from 3-point land.
"We've got to play through it," SHSU senior Lance Pevehouse said. "We tried tonight, it just didn't happen. Next game, we have to come out and get on a better note than we have the last three games."
The biggest difference in the game was the Lumberjacks' ability to make Sam Houston pay for its mistakes. The Bearkats turned the ball over 17 times and SFA turned them into 23 points.
The Bearkats managed to score just 10 points off 19 miscues by the Lumberjacks.
"That was absolutely, in my opinion, the difference in the game," Hooten added. "That is a 13-point difference and we lost by 14. That is disappointing because they have a very young backcourt."
Stephen F. Austin also got some lucky bounces. Three times Sam Houston almost forced a shot-clock violation only to have the Lumberjacks nail a pair of 3s and a two-point basket on well-defended plays.
The Bearkats' offense just could not make keys plays and SFA's did.
"I thought we got a lot of good looks, but I don't want to take anything away from their defense," Hooten added. "They defended our stuff real well and they know the strengths of the guys we have. They made it difficult on us, but we did get some open looks.
"... When things aren't going good, we have to find ways to generate our offense."
Sam Houston will seek to bounce back Saturday when the Bearkats play host to UTSA at 7 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum.
Tickets for all Sam Houston State home athletic events are on sale now online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the SHSU Athletic Ticket Office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1764.
