HAMMOND, La. -- Senior guard Jabari Peters scored a season-high 21 points to fuel a strong second-half as Sam Houston picked up a 72-59 win at Southeastern Louisiana Monday night. The Bearkats extend their Southland record to 7-0 and their winning-streak to seven games.
Peters was dominant to start the second half, hitting his first four shots and a pair of free throws. With his scoring streak the Bearkats jumped up to an 11-point lead halfway through the second period and never looked back.
“I'm extremely excited anytime you can go on the road and win two games, especially a trip this long,” SHSU head coach Jason Hooten said. “I didn't think we played in the first half, I just thought that Southeastern played really well. I'm so proud of our guys for the second half. We shot 50% from the field and only gave up 35% from the field.”
SLU missed its first four shots of the second half while SHSU came out of the locker room extremely strong and went 4-for-4 to open the half.
Sam Houston took care of business from the free-throw line in the closing minutes, hitting ten straight from the stripe at one point.
DeMarcus Gatlin and Aurimas Majauskas each scored 11 points for the Kats. Majauskas was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line and pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
Sam Houston missed its first three shots of the game before Michael Holyfield got the Bearkats on the board with a three-point play. Jabari Peters followed with a three-pointer to give SHSU its first lead.
A three-pointer by Dakarai Henderson gave the Kats a 14-11 lead but the Lions made their next three shots to take an 18-14 lead. They would maintain that lead until the closing seconds of the first half.
Peters hit a jumper with nine seconds left in the first half to send the game to halftime tied 31-31. He scored seven points in the first half. Aurimas Majauskas also scored seven points, coming off the bench for SHSU.
Paul Baxter had three steals in the first half, leading to a pair of fast-break baskets for Sam Houston. He finished the game with five points, four assists and three rebounds.
The Bearkats return to Johnson Coliseum to host McNeese State Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
