Road trip to Central Arkansas
2/18/2011 12:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Bearkats enter the game 13-11 for the year. Despite a 73-63 loss at McNeese State Monday, Sam Houston remains tied for second spot in the Southland Conference West Division. SHSU, Stephen F. Austin, UTSA and UT-Arlington all own 6-5 league marks. Texas State leads the West at 8-3.
With five games remaining in the regular season, the goal for each of the teams in the league is to earn a berth in the league's post-season event.
The top two finishers in each division and the next four squads with the best regular season league marks will qualify for the 2011 State Farm Southland Conference tournament March 9-12 at the Leonard Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. The winner of the tournament will earn the league's NCAA "March Madness" berth. Sam Houston is defending tournament champion.
Sam Houston is 5-0 in men's basketball against Central Arkansas. The Kats defeated the Bears 75-70 in Huntsville last season. SHSU is 2-0 against UCA in Conway. Sam Houston won 71-58 there in 2008 and 75-52 in 2009.
Senior 6-7 forward Gilberto Clavell will be looking to add to his career scoring mark which now stands at 1,026 points in 57 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.
Averaging 21.1 points in Southland play and 19.9 for the season, Clavell is the Southland's second-leading scorer. He has totaled double figures in 23 of the Kats' 24 contests this year (including 11 games with 20 or more points). Clavell needs 30 more points to move into the top 20 all-time scorers at SHSU.
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 725 points in 108 career games. Pevehouse is in his third season at SHSU with 659 career points in 86 appearances.
Both Crow and Pevehouse have earned the bachelor's degrees and are now doing post-graduate work. The pair both have been named as 2011 CoSIDA Academic All-District performers and thus are eligible for the Academic All-America ballot this season.
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.
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.
The game Saturday will be broadcast live on KSAM 101.7 FM and on the internet on www.gobearkats.com .
Following the trip to Arkansas, the Bearkats return home to Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum where on Wednesday, Feb. 28, they will play host to East Division co-leader Northwestern State.
Wednesday night, one sharp-shooting Sam Houston State student will win a year's apartment lease for the 2011-12 school year in the second annual "Great Bearkat Shootout Presented by The Grove."
The "Shootout" first round will be held after the SHSU-Northwestern State game on Wednesday, February 23. That evening the field will be whittled down to two finalists for the SHSU-Texas State home finale Saturday March 5 at Johnson Coliseum. Tip-off for both games is 7 p.m.
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.
