Sam Houston wasn't able to overcome an extremely slow start as the Bearkats lost 79-68 to Stephen F. Austin Saturday at Johnson Coliseum. The Kats, who missed their first nine shots of the game, had their nine-game winning streak snapped and fell to 6-1 in Southland play.
Jacob Parker scored SFA's first six points while Sam Houston started cold. The Lumberjacks jumped out to a 25-5 lead with the Bearkats only points coming on free-throws by Michael Holyfield and Aurimas Majauskas.
“They were very good today and we weren't. A lot of that had to do with us but you have to give them credit as well,” SHSU head coach Jason Hooten said. “Anytime you get behind 22-3 it doesn't matter who you're playing, it's really hard to dig out of that hole. You have to give them credit, they beat us in every facet today.”
Sam Houston opened the game with six turnovers while the Lumberjacks had just one.
Paul Baxter finally made the Bearkats first basket after the team started the game 0-for-9 in the first 10 minutes.
The Kats started to show some signs of life after Baxter's layup. Jabari Peters hit a three-pointer and Demarcus Gatlin made two layups and a free-throw, cutting the SFA lead to 27-16.
A three-pointer by Baxter got the game back to single digits with just under six minutes left in the first half. SFA made a pair of free-throws to extend the lead back out to 11.
Peters hit another three-pointer just before halftime to make the score 39-29 at the break.
SFA hit 56% of their first-half shots and only turned the ball over four times, while SHSU shot 38% and turned it over 10 times.
Michael Holyfield scored the Kats first points of the second half with a put-back dunk and a made free-throw, completing the three-point play.
The Bearkats were then outscored 18-6 over the next seven minutes, growing SFA's lead to 22 points.
Sam Houston had one of its worst shooting performances of the season, hitting 39% from the field, while allowing SFA to hit 54% of their shots. The 54% is the highest of any SHSU opponent this season.
DeMarcus Gatlin led the Bearkats with 15 points, while Paul Baxter added 13 and Jabari Peters chipped in 12.
SFA was led by 17 points from Thomas Walkup while Ty Charles added 16 points. Clide Geffrard totaled 15 points and Parker scored 13.
Sam Houston will have no time to think about this game, as they will hit the road for a game at Abilene Christian Monday at 7 p.m. SHSU will then play its next four at home.
