College Station – Sam Houston came close to another upset on the road Wednesday night at Reed Arena, falling to a talented Texas A&M team 66-63.

The Bearkats tied the contest 63-63 after a pair of free throws by Kaheem Ransom with 0:29 to play. But Daniel House hit the game-winning three-pointer with four seconds left to avoid overtime.

Ransom led Sam Houston with 17 points and seven rebounds. DeMarcus Gatlin and Jabari Peters each scored 12 points. Paul Baxter added eight for the Bearkakts who dropped to 4-3 for the year.

The SHSU men overcame a slow start, falling behind 11-0 in the first five minutes. Peters posted the Kats' first three points on three consecutive free throws with 15:52 left in the opening period.

But Sam Houston recovered, coming back to tie 26-26 on a Gatlin free throw 1:05 before intermission and trailing by just three, 30-27 at half.

The two teams traded leads several times in the second period. Sam Houston's last lead came on a three-point play by Ransom to make the score 54-52 with 7:02 to go.

Free throw shooting made a big difference for Sam Houston. The Kats went 18-of-21 at the line (86 percent) while the Aggies were 11-of-22 (50 percent). The SHSU men also out-rebounded the bigger Aggies 40-34.

Michael Holyfield totaled nine rebounds while Peters totaled six and Aurimas Majaskus added five.

Sam Houston returns to Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum Saturday to play host to Texas-Pan American in at 4:30 p.m. non-conference contest.