By Cody Stark The Huntsville Item
SAN ANTONIO - The Bearkats could not have asked for a better way to open the defense of their Southland Conference championship.
Junior Marcus Williams hit two clutch free throws following a key defensive rebound with nine seconds left and UTSA failed to capitalize on opportunities late in the game as Sam Houston State snuck into the Convocation Center and stole a 62-59 victory from the Roadrunners on Saturday night.
Senior Gilberto Clavell was a beast in the paint, scoring a game-high 26 points to help the Bearkats (8-6) get a little revenge for their last trip to San Antonio. Last season, UTSA hit 35 of 45 free throws to end Sam Houston's 11-game win streak to begin SLC play with a 91-90 victory in overtime.
Seniors Josten Crow and Lance Pevehouse each added eight points and knocked down critical 3-pointers for Sam Houston, which overcame a seven-point deficit to join Southeastern Louisiana, Nicholls, McNeese State, Lamar and Texas State as the big winners on the opening day of conference action.
"Our guys just battled and hung in there," Bearkats head coach Jason Hooten said. "We made some big plays when we needed to. Marcus Williams got that big rebound and got fouled there at the end. He made two big free throws and that put us into position to defend the last play of the game. I'm proud of the guys because they kept making plays."
This game was totally different than the one a year ago. UTSA (6-7) only shot nine free throws on Saturday and there were two in particular that played a huge difference in the outcome.
Roadrunners senior and leading scorer Devin Gibson, who made 13 free throws against the Bearkats in that overtime win in 2010, had a chance to put UTSA on top by two possessions when he went to the line for a one-and-one with a 58-55 lead and 2:49 left in the game.
The 82 percent free-throw shooter missed the front end and it opened the door for Sam Houston. Crow came back down the court and buried a 3-pointer in front of the Bearkat bench to tie the game. Clavell later hit a pair of free throws with one minute to go in the game to give SHSU a two-point lead.
Once again, UTSA had the opportunity to make some clutch free throws when Stephen Franklin was fouled with 40 seconds left. After he made the first shot to cut the Bearkats' lead to 60-59, UTSA head coach Brooks Thompson called a timeout. Following the break, Franklin missed the shot, which pretty much sealed the win for Sam Houston.
"Devin is a great player and an 80 percent free throw shooter," Crow said. "But strange things happen and you have to be ready. We had opportunities tonight and we took advantage of those. We did what we needed to get the win and it feels great."
The Roadrunners looked to be in complete control early in the game. UTSA stormed out to a 10-3 lead before the Bearkats finally woke up. Clavell and Crow hit back-to-back treys to cut the lead to one and it was back and forth from there.
Freshman Jeromie Hill, who led UTSA with 17 points, scored a layup with 50 seconds left in the first half to put the Roadrunners up 34-28. But as was the story of the game, the Bearkats responded as Pevehouse drilled a 3 at the buzzer to trim the advantage to 34-31 at the break.
Crow scored under the basket and Clavell made consecutive buckets to give Sam Houston its first lead of the second half at 43-41 midway through the period only to see UTSA come back and go up 53-51 on a basket by Franklin.
That was how it went the rest of the way. The Bearkats just made the plays when it mattered most.
"It was a crazy game," said Clavell, who just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. "Coach always tells us to fight through adversity. We had adversity tonight, but we had different guys make plays. We have bonded. It was a great team effort."
Sam Houston returns to Huntsville for their first home game in a month Wednesday, Jan. 12, when the Bearkats play host to UT-Arlington in a 7 p.m. contest.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. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1764.
Tickets for Sam Houston men's basketball are on sale now online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets.
