Islanders visit Johnson Coliseum Saturday
2/11/2011 12:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Kats ended a three-game losing streak with an 88-67 victory over UTSA on Jan. 29, then followed up with a come-from-behind 75-65 win over Southeastern Louisiana last Saturday and a 78-74 road thriller at UT-Arlington Wednesday.
Sam Houston State holds a 8-4 advantage in its men's basketball series with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Islanders defeated the Bearkats 70-68 in the pair's first meeting this season January 22 in Corpus Christi. That loss ended a four-game winning streak for the Bearkats against the Islanders.
SHSU owns a 4-1 record against TAMUCC at Johnson Coliseum. The Bearkats won 90-74 in Huntsville last year.
With thre three-game winning streak, Sam Houston State has climbed into a four-way tie for first place in the Southland Conference West Division. Texas State leads the West with a 6-3 league mark. The Bearkats, Stephen F. Austin, UTSA and UT-Arlington all stand 5-4 in Southland competition.
Since their 70-68 victory over the Bearkats January 22, the Islanders have won only one of their last five games. That includes a 63-57 overtime loss to Savannah State in overtime last Monday. Watt Demond, a 6-7 junior forward, leads A&M-Corpus Christi with 15.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Justin Reynolds, a 6-8 junior forward, adds 10.0 points per contest.
Senior 6-7 forward Gilberto Clavell sank a pair of free throws with less than a minute left at UT-Arlington Wednesday to become the first junior college transfer to score more than 1,000 career points during his two years as a Bearkat at the NCAA Division I level.
Clavell now has scored 1,001 points in 55 games since transferring to Sam Houston from Collin County Community College. Only 21 other men have scored 1,000 career points at Sam Houston State.
Clavell and fellow seniors Josten Crow and Lance Pevehouse are the co-captains and leaders of the 2011 Sam Houston squad. Crow is the only four-year player on the team. The 6-4 forward has scored 703 points in 106 career games. Pevehouse is in his third season at SHSU with 633 career points in 84 appearances.
Crow ranks No. 3 in steals (1.8), No. 6 in assists (4.0), No. 11 in scoring (13.6) and No. 16 in rebounds (5.5) in the Southland this year. He has scored in double figures in 14 games.
Clavell was Southland Conference "Newcomer of the Year" and an All-Southland Tournament performer. Crow ranked No. 1 in the Southland and No. 2 nationally in assist/turnover ratio. Pevehouse has provided a consistent perimeter scoring threat for the past three years.
Three other players who played a major role in the championship season as reserves also return.Drae Murray, a 5-10 junior guard, leads the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.7) and stands third in assists (4.5). Murray is averaging 5.6 ponits per game this season.Antuan Bootle , 6-7 junior center, led the Bearkats in rebounding (6.3) during Southland action last year. This season Bootle is averaging 4.8 points and 5.7 rebounds. Aaron Thompson, a 6-9 sophomore center who is a skilled shooter, adds additional depth inside.
Marcus Williams, a 5-10 guard from Cochise College in Douglas, Ariz. , is Sam Houston's third-leading scorer this year with 8.0 points per game. He averages 4.0 assists.Nafis Richardson, a 6-2 guard from McLennan Community College, is averaging 6.4 points per game this season. Marcus James, a 6-7 forward Marcus James from Seward County in Kansas owns 4.6 scoring and 4.3 rebounding means.
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 Jan. 22.
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.
"We have seven games to play in the regular season with only three at home, so every time we take the floor it's a big game," Hooten said. "A&M-Corpus Christi beat us earlier in the year in Corpus, so we really need to focus on what we need to get done Saturday."
Tickets for all Sam Houston home athletic events are on sale online now 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. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.
