Brooklyn, New York – Junior center Aurimas Majauskas scored 21 points to lead Sam Houston to a 75-69 road victory over LIU-Brooklyn Friday night as the Bearkat men evened their season record at 5-5.
A 16-0 run during a five minute period starting just after the nine minute mark of the second half and accurate free throw shooting in the final 50 seconds of the game powered the Bearkats to their third consecutive victory.
“We talked before the game about how, to win on the road you have to do more than just out-score somebody,” Sam Houston head coach Jason Hooten said. “That's what we did tonight. We played with a lot of intensity on defense. We got after loose balls. We took charges. We got after it on the boards. We did all the little things. I'm really happy about the way this young team continues to improve.”
Sam Houston out-rebounded LIU 43-37 with 14 of those boards coming on the offensive end of the floor. Torry Butler led the Kats with 12 rebounds.
“We out-rebounded them 25-14 in the second half alone,” Hooten said. “We hit our free throws too. We only got to shoot four free throws in the first half. But in the second half we were 25-of-34. For the game we hit 28 free throws, just one less than they attempted.”
Down four points at half, 32-28, Sam Houston kept things close during the first ten minutes of the second period. Torry Butler started the big Bearkat run with a field goal with 8:59 remaining to break a 50-50 tie.
Thanks to several Blackbird personals and a technical foul, Sam Houston sank seven consecutive free throws and Majauskas bagged a three-pointer to give the Kats a 64-50 lead with 6:59 to play. Layups by Majauskas and Dakarai Henderson extended the margin to 66-53 with 4:53 remaining.
“We talk about making those kind of runs,” Hooten said. “Again, that's what you have to do to win on the road. But, after our run, we gave up a run to them. That's an area where we need to improve.”
LIU struck back with a 10-0 run of its own to trim the Sam margin to three, 66-63, after a jumper by Joel Hernandez with 2:44 on the clock. A free throw by Henderson and a layup by Majauskas gave the Kats some breathing room with a 69-64 margin going into the game's final minute.
Sam Houston made six consecutive free throws to ice the game in the final 43 seconds. Jovante' Spivey hit three of the six charity shots in the final minute. Jamal Williams, Marc Fortin and Henderson accounted for the other three.
For the night the Bearkats hit 73 per cent from the line. Williams totaled 15 points and was credited with five assists. Spivey scored 12 points.
“I'm really proud of Jamal Williams,” Hooten said. “He played his third game as a point guard tonight, starting and playing 38 minutes. It was a great effort.”
The Blackbirds, who were led in scoring by Hernandez with 16 points, dropped to 5-4 for the year.
Sam Houston now heads to El Paso for the WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational, the oldest holiday tournament in NCAA college basketball. The Kats will take on UC-Irvine in their opening game Tuesday night. Host UTEP takes on Norfolk State in the other first round game.
“Everyone on the team is looking forward to the Sun Bowl event which is one of the great holiday tournaments in NCAA basketball,” Hooten said. “We have to open up with an outstanding team in UC-Irvine, one of the biggest teams in college basketball this year. It's going to be a real challenge, but playing a tough schedule like this is something that's going to make us better.”
