Seniors Lance Pevehouse and Josten Crow led a 3-point shooting assault as Sam Houston avenged an earlier setback to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with a 75-67 victory over the Islanders at Johnson Coliseum on Saturday night.
The Kats matched a season-high 11 treys to extend their winning streak to four and remain tied for second in the SLC West at 6-4.
"I hope we haven't hit our stride yet and the best is yet to come," SHSU head coach Jason Hooten said. "We are playing better."
Sam Houston certainly is.
After beginning conference play 2-1, the Bearkats (13-10 overall) hit a wall, dropping three straight to Texas State, A&M-Corpus Christi and Stephen F. Austin.
Since then, things have fallen into place and it has been because Sam Houston has played better on both sides of the court.
Junior Drae Murray and Crow drilled back-to-back 3s to spark a 10-0 run four and a half minutes into the second half Saturday to help the Bearkats open up a close game with a 39-29 advantage.
The Islanders (3-7, 8-17) responded with two straight baskets by Jawan Nelson and Terence Jones, but that was the beginning of the end.
Murray hit a pair of free throws and Crow, who scored 17 points, converted a rare four-point play when he was fouled on a 3-point attempt. Pevehouse later knocked down a trey and junior Marcus James scored on an offensive board to put Sam Houston up 51-35 with 12:21 to play.
The Bearkats got hot from outside early and carried it over into the second half with A&M-Corpus Christi keyed on stopping senior Gilberto Clavell inside. Sam Houston finished 11 of 26 from behind the arc with Crow and Pevehouse each knocking in four 3s apiece.
That opened things up for Clavell in the second half. After scoring just three points in the first 20 minutes, Clavell, the second-leading scorer in the conference, added 10 points after the break.
"We went inside to (Clavell) and they were double- and triple-teaming him," said Pevehouse, who finished with 16 points. "He was kicking it out very well tonight, probably the best game he has had doing that all season. He hit me, and thankfully, I hit my shots. Crow did the same thing."
The Bearkats struggled with the Islanders' size in the first meeting, a 70-68 road loss on Jan. 22. A&M-Corpus Christi looked to be on its way to controlling the game in the paint again on Saturday, outscoring Sam Houston 14-4 underneath the basket in the first half.
The Kats tightened up on defense and forced the Islanders to settle for outside shots. A&M-Corpus Christi was able to stay in the game by hitting nine 3s, but once the SHSU lead got to 16, it was never really close after that.
"They missed a lot of shots, but we played together," Crow said. "We just executed and did what we have been going over in practice, focusing on their keys, which was getting it to their (inside guys)."
The game was close in the first half. The biggest lead for both teams was four points.
Sam Houston made some mistakes with seven turnovers which the Islanders turned into five points. But the Bearkats took better care of the basketball in the second half with only three turnovers.
The Kats have a short turnaround before hitting the court again. Sam Houston battles McNeese State on Monday night at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles, La.
"It will be an unbelievable challenge for our ballclub. (McNeese) is 11-0 at home," Hooten said. "It will be tough challenge for us. We have six games left and we will take them one at a time. It is just the next game on our schedule."
Following the McNeese State game, SHSU then meets Lamar in Beaumont on Saturday. The next Bearkat home game at Johnson Coliseum will be Wednesday, Feb. 28, when the Kats host Northwestern State.
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.
