HAMMOND, La. -- The Bearkat starting five all scored in double figures to lead the Sam Houston men's basketball team to an 85-78 win over Southeastern Louisiana on the road Thursday night.
Junior backcourt duo Kaheem Ransom and Jabari Peters once again led the Kats in scoring. Ransom totaled 22 points in the game, his second highest single game total this season, while Peters scored 17.
Paul Baxter added 13 points, Michael Holyfield scored 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds, and James Thomas scored 11 and had seven boards. Terrance Motley came off the bench to score seven points.
The Lions' JaMichael Hawkins hit seven threes in the game including several in the closing minutes to keep the game within ten points.
“We thought it would be a battle coming in here, as most road games are, and luckily there wasn't another minute left in this game,” Bearkat head coach Jason Hooten said. “Our guys played really hard tonight and hung in there and fought. It was a great team win.”
The Bearkats had several large leads throughout the game but couldn't put the Lions away completely. Southeastern Louisiana was able to keep the Bearkat lead to single digits down the stretch but were never able to get it closer than five points.
The Kats shot well throughout the game and made their free throws down the stretch to keep the Lions at arms-length. SHSU shot 63% from the floor, their highest total this season.
“I'm really happy with the way we shot tonight. The thing I'm not happy with is that they shot 55%. We've got to get better defensively. I think if we could have played a really good defensive game it wouldn't have come down to seven or eight points. But when you can get a road win it's really sweet,” Hooten added.
The Lions were led by Hawkins' 26 points on seven three-pointers and Dre Evans added 18 and dished out five assists.
The Bearkats take their three-game winning streak to New Orleans Saturday afternoon. Sam Houston's four-game road swing continues next week at Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian before returning to Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville Thursday, Jan. 30, against A&M-Corpus Christi.
