Trailing by three with 26 seconds remaining, Sam Houston State's Jalin Barnes drove the lane, grabbing the bucket and the foul, sending the Bearkats into overtime against Southern Illinois before eventually falling 86-81 on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Coliseum.

Sam Houston (1-2) raced out to a 16-point lead at 30-14 with 7:44 left in the first half before the Salukis made a run of their own, trimming the Kats' lead to four points heading into the intermission.

“It's a tough loss,” Ameer Jackson said. “I feel like we let this go. We came out with a lot of intensity and lost it but were able to come back. We left a lot out there – especially on the free throw line – and lost by five. If we can knock the free throws down, we can close out games.”

Sam Houston knocked down just 19 of 31 free throws, while Southern Illinois went 27-for-33 at the line, including hitting five of their first six while outscoring the Kats 9-4 in overtime.

“Our kids continued to fight,” Sam Houston head coach Jason Hooten said. “What I saw today is what I wanted to see out of our team. We're just not ready yet to win games like that. That game right there is like playing one of the top teams in our league and it's a great experience for our team.”

The Bearkats shot 50 percent beyond the arch, hitting eight-of-19 three-pointers, including a pair from Dakarai Henderson, who led the Kats with 18 points. Meanwhile, Aurimas Majauskas went 6-for-8 from the field, adding 16 points while Jackson totaled 14 points.

Each team logged 31 rebounds, with Jamal Williams bringing home a team-leading nine followed by Torry Butler's seven.

“Southern Illinois is a good program that is well coached,” Jackson said. “We just have to play with the same intensity. When they put on the full court press, it changed things. We weren't playing our game, we were playing their tempo. It sped us up and we can't let anything get to us.”

The Salukis' Anthony Beane led all scorers with 21 points while Sean O'Brien added 17 points and seven rebounds. The win moved Southern Illinois to 4-0 for the first time since 2004.

The result snapped the Kats' three-game overtime win-streak, dating to the 2012-13 season. A season ago, Sam Houston downed South Dakota, 93-85 in three overtimes; the only time that Kats played extra minutes.

Sam Houston hits the road for a visit to Cal on Monday at 10 p.m. and Friday against Stetson or Bethune Cookman as part of the Las Vegas Invitational. For the latest, follow @BearkatHoops on Twitter and visit GoBearkats.com.