Road performances show Kats will be contender
12/4/2014 8:41:00 AM | Men's Basketball
After his highly regarded 5-1 Texas A&M team edged Sam Houston on a late three-pointer Wednesday night, Aggie men's basketball head coach Billy Kennedy told his post-game news conference audience how impressed he was with the Bearkats.
“Sam Houston, I'm telling you, they're a tough matchup for us and for a lot of teams,” Kennedy said. “They have five juniors and five seniors. They don't get rattled. They put four men out there who can shoot the three. It's a tough matchup for bigger teams. We have 6-foot-5 wings who are guarding 6-foot-1 guards who are juniors and seniors. They are going to compete with Stephen F. Austin for the Southland Conference championship.”
For the second time this season Wednesday night, the Bearkats took a big name NCAA Division I program down to the wire. It happened first at UNLV where the Runnin' Rebels edged SHSU 59-57. Wednesday night, the Aggies were happy to leave Reed Arena with a 66-63 win.
Texas A&M forward Danuel House hit a three-point with Bearkats guard Paul Baxter in his face with less than 10 seconds to go. A last-second shot by SHSU guard Jabari Peters just missed off the back iron to give the Aggies the narrow.
“We've played two high-major games to the wire and probably should have won both of them,” Sam Houston coach Jason Hooten said. “But we didn't. You play these games to get better and learn a lot about your guys and I'm so proud of the way we play hard all the time.”
Hooten pointed to a slow start for the Bearkats as an area of concern. Sam Houston committed six turnovers and missed the only two shots it took to help start Texas A&M on an 11-0 run to begin the game.
A jump shot from Sam Houston guard Paul Baxter cut the deficit to 13-9, and two free throws from senior DeMarcus Gatlin gave the Bearkats a 27-26 advantage with just over a minute to play in the first half.
“It may have a lot to do with the final score,” Hooten said. “You can't get down 11-0. We have not been a good starting team thus far after seven games and that is a disappointment and something I'm going to have to look at and get fixed. But when you get down 11-0 and come back like we did, that just tell the character of your kids.”
Sam Houston got into early foul trouble as the Bearkats big man, 6-11 Michael Holyfield, had four fouls despite playing only 12 minutes. The Bearkats had 26 points off the bench, 12 of which came from Gatlin, who often found himself covered by a taller, yet less mobile Aggies forward. Aurimas Majauskas also proved to be a difficult matchup for Texas A&M, as he finished with six points.
Despite having to play with a small lineup, the Kats still managed to outrebound Texas A&M 40-34.
“We were able to get mismatches and get into the paint and look for shooters,” said guard Kaheem Ranson, who led Sam Houston with 17 points. “It really hurt us on the defensive end though. They got a bunch of layups inside.”
Both close losses at UNLV and Texas A&M plus a three-overtime victory over South Dakota at a tournament show the experienced Bearkats are going to be a factor in the 2015 Southland Conference race.
Sam Houston plays host to UT-Pan American Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The contest is the first of four home games at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum in December.
The Bearkats also host Eastern Washington on Tuesday, December 16; Prairie View A&M Saturday, December 20 and Howard Payne Monday, December 29. On Saturday, December 13, the Sam Houston men will get another big road test as they travel to LSU.
Tickets for Sam Houston State men's basketball home games are on sale now online at www.gobearkats.com .
