CHENEY, Wash – The Sam Houston State men's basketball team fell on Saturday afternoon 81-76 to Eastern Washington in a non-conference game as part of the ESPN BracketBusters.

The normally stingy Bearkat defense had no answer for the Eagle hot shooting as EWU knocked down 60 percent of their shots from the floor, including 56 percent from 3-point range.

The Eagles took a 16-point lead into the break, but the Kats fought back in the second half. They used an early 8-0 run to cut the lead to eight, but every time the Kats made a run, EWU knocked down a big shot.

After once again trailing by 16 in the second half, Sam Houston made one last charge, cutting the lead to just two with less than a minute to play, but EWU converted on four of their 25 made free throws to hold of the Kats.

The Eagles finished the night hitting 10-of-18 from long range. They also controlled the Kats on the inside, blocking a school record 16 shots. 

On the offensive end, the Kats had plenty of looks, firing up 78 shots, hitting just 26 for a 33 percent clip.

The highlight of the game for the Kats was the play of freshman Paul Baxter who scored 19 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. James Thomas scored 12 and Marquel McKinney scored 10.

The Kats will be back in action for a pair of home games starting Thursday against Nicholls, followed by the final home game on the season Saturday afternoon against Southeastern Louisiana.