Bearkats host Lumberjacks Wednesday night
2/19/2013 11:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball
On the men's side, Stephen F. Austin and Northwestern State are tied for first place, both with 12-2 league records. The Lumberjacks are 21-3 for the year and lead all Southland Conference teams in Monday's NCAA RPI report. The Lumberjacks enter the week at No. 82.
Stephen F. Austin continues to be the top defensive team in NCAA Division I, limiting the opposition to an average of 49.9 points per game, an average is better than Western Illinois (52.2), Florida (52.6), Virginia (54.0) and Savannah State (54.6).
Sam Houston State, now 14-11 for the year and 7-6 in league action after an 80-75 road win at Central Arkansas Saturday, ranks second in the Southland in scoring defense, giving up 61.4 points per contest.
The Bearkats are 13-1 in games in which the Bearkats have limited opponents to 63 points or less and 1-10 in contests in which its foes have scored more than 63 points.
Nine different players have scored in double figures this year for SHSU. Junior forward James Thomas scored 26 points in the win at UCA for the highest point total by a Bearkat this season.
Darius Gatson leads the men with 8.9 points per game while Thomas is scoring 8.3 points per contest.
Taylor Smith leads the Lumberjacks with 15.9 points per game.
In the women's contest at 5:30, Sam Houston is looking to stop its recent tailspin. The Kats held a game-and-a-half lead on the rest of the Southland with a 9-1 mark after six straight wins March 7. But losses to Lamar, Oral Roberts and Central Arkansas have dropped the women into a second place tie.
ORU (10-4) now leads the women's race while Lamar and Sam Houston follow with 9-4 records. The Bearkats, who stand 13-12 for the season, have not lost four games in a row since December, 2010.
Stephen F. Austin stands seventh in the women's standings with a 6-8 Southland mark and an 11-14 record for the year. While the Lumberjacks hold a 55-8 record over Sam Houston, the Bearkat women have won two of their last three meetings with SFA including a 70-55 victory in Nacogdoches last year.
Britni Martin (16.4 points), Sequeena Thomas (13.5 points, 12.8 rebounds) and Chanice Smith (9.0 points) continue to lead the Kats.
The women's game will be broadcast on 104.9 The Hits FM while the men's game will be carried on KSAM 101.7 FM.
Following Wednesday's men's game, the preliminaries for the fourth annual "Great Bearkat Shootout" presented by The Grove will begin with a prize of a year's free rent at The Grove for one sharp-shooting Sam Houston State student.
