Playing in their first NCAA postseason game since 2010, the Bearkats rolled through Alabama State 71-49 in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Sam Houston State (24-10) will host a second round CIT game this weekend. Opponent and game time will be announced at a later date.
Several Bearkat youngsters got one of their biggest opportunities of the season and made the most of it. Redshirt freshman Dakarai Henderson led the Kats with 14 points, playing in 18 minutes.
“A lot of shots weren't falling for us in the SFA game but we've been practicing this whole week and we just took it out on them today,” Henderson said. “This is the game we love. We are just blessed to play another game because a lot of people in the nation hung up their jersey after the conference tournaments.”
True freshman Aurimas Majauskas scored 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds in his most action since nonconference play.
Senior James Thomas scored 13 points and pulled down eight rebounds. The 13 points were the most he scored since the game at Incarnate Word. Paul Baxter had a solid night, scoring 10 points and pulling down five rebounds. He had a strong defensive game with two blocks and two steals.
The Bearkats closed the first half on a 6-0 run to take a 28-20 lead into the locker room. Alabama State had taken their first lead of the game, 13-12, with seven minutes left in the first half. Jabari Peters would give the Kats the lead back with a three-pointer and the Kats would never trail again.
Sam Houston led by as many as 28 points in the game. The Bearkats shot 54% in the second half and 44% for the game.
Alabama State was led by Brandon Graham's 13 points, while Demarcus Robinson scored 11 points on a trio of three-pointers. The Kats held the Hornets' leading scorer Jamel Waters to just three points.
“I told our guys it was just going to come down to toughing it out and playing good defense and I thought our guys did that tonight,” head coach Jason Hooten said. “I was really happy with our defense. I thought we were a little fatigued and so we went to the bench. Will Bond hit a big three that I thought really sparked us.”
More information about the second round (March 21-22) of the CIT will be released when available.
CollegeInsider.com Tournament Opening Round Results
Monday
Holy Cross 68, Brown 65
Tuesday
Sam Houston 71, Alabama State 49
VMI 111, Canisius 100
Wright St. 73, East Carolina 59
Eastern Michigan 58, Norfolk St. 54
East Tennessee 79, Chattanooga 66
Columbia 58, Valparaiso 56
San Diego 87, Portland State 65
Wednesday Schedule
Quinnipiac at Yale
Towson at S. C. Upstate
Cleveland State at Ohio
Akron at IPFW
Murray State at Missouri State
North Dakota at Nebraska-Omaha
A&M-Corpus Christi at Northern Colorado
Pacific at Grand Canyon
