Fellow senior Josten Crow led Sam Houston with 20 points as the Bearkats won their third game in a row to jump into a four-way tie for second place in the Southland Conference West Division with the victory.

The Kats now stand 12-10 for the season and 5-4 in league play. Texas State leads the West with a 6-3 mark. Sam Houston is tied for second with UTSA, Stephen F. Austin and UTA.

The Mavericks led by two points twice early in the game, but Sam Houston surged ahead to lead by four at intermission and by as many as 13 in the second half. In the final minute the Kats held off a final rally to preserve the win.

"The players came ready to play and fought hard," Sam Houston head coach Jason Hooten said. "We did everything we talked about. UTA is one of the best defensive teams in the league. We did what it took to win in a big game for us."

Clavell hit a pair of free throws with 35 seconds to play to up his career total to 1,001 points in 55 games as a Bearkat. The 6-7 senior went 8-of-10 from the foul line.

Crow's points were important but just as big was a block on a Maverick lay-up attempt in the final seconds.

Marcus James hit two key free throws with 18 seconds remaining after UTA had cut the margin to three points.

Sam Houston returns to Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum Saturday where the Bearkats will play host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 7 p.m.

"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.