Sam Houston State men's basketball kept Texas Tech at bay offensively most of the evening but could not recover from a slow start and cold shooting performance (17-of-64) falling 71-56 in Lubbock on Wednesday night.
The Bearkats trailed 11-1 before knocking down their first bucket with 15:45 in the opening half. The Red Raiders pushed their lead to 15 at 10:02 in the first half and again at 5:54 before eventually taking the margin into the locker room at 38-23.
“We got off to a bad start and I think got outscored by one the rest of the game,” Sam Houston head coach Jason Hooten said. “We couldn't make a shot early and in a game like that, it makes a difference. You have to credit Texas Tech. They are well coached and are a good defensive team.”
Forward Torry Butler finished with nine points and as many rebounds, helping the Kats (2-5) hold their own on the boards, outrebounding Texas Tech 16-9 on the offensive end while the Red Raiders (5-1) held the overall advantage 44-43.
Three minutes into the second half, Albert Almanza and Aurimas Majauskas drilled back-to-back threes to cut the Texas Tech lead to eight at 42-34. While both squads struggled offensively, Sam Houston inched to within 10 at 51-41 on a Butler layup with 9:20 left but could get no closer.
“I thought we took some bad shots in the first half,” Hooten said. “I thought our defense just wasn't good enough. After the first possession, we came back down and had the three-point plays. This team has to get better defensively and finish off some stops.”
Texas Tech broke away on an 8-0 run during a 1:05 span late to push its lead to a game-high 23 on a Keenan Evans three-pointer with 2:33 left before the Bearkats ended the game on a 10-2 run.
The Red Raiders' Norense Odiase posted a career-high 16 points including 11 in the second half. Devaugntah Williams added 15 points while Zach Smith brought home 14 rebounds.
Majauskas matched Butler with a team-high nine points while Dakarai Henderson, who struggled early but found his groove late, and Josh Delaney each totaled eight points. For Delaney, a freshman from Harker Heights, the point total was a season high.
“I am real proud of Josh because right now he probably wouldn't be playing if Paul (Baxter) wasn't hurt,” Hooten said. “He is taking advantage of his opportunities. One thing he has done a good job of is when he makes a mistake and comes out, he gathers himself and learns from it. He can really shoot the ball and he'll keep getting better.”
Texas Tech shot just 41 percent and each team knocked down seven three-pointers. The Bearkats turned over the ball 12 times while Tech offered up 11.
Sam Houston returns to Johnson Coliseum on Sunday, welcoming Sul Ross at 2 p.m. The game will be 'Star Wars Day' with fans encouraged to come dressed as their favorite character to win prizes. To purchase tickets, call (936) 294-1729 or visit GoBearkats.com.
