Michael Holyfield and Aurimas Majauskas were unstoppable inside, combining for 30 points and 21 rebounds, as Sam Houston State beat Abilene Christian 71-49 Monday night at Johnson Coliseum.

“We did a really good job tonight of getting the ball inside. We knew that would be a mismatch for us. Our two big fellas played really well in there,” SHSU coach Jason Hooten said. “You've got to credit our guards for getting the ball where they needed to get it. We went and rebounded the ball and we really took care of the ball.”

Michael Holyfield completely dominated the opening stages of the game, pulling down eight rebounds and scoring four points in the first four minutes. Holyfield finished the first half with seven points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots in just nine minutes played.

The senior post player finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds in 14 minutes played. It was his fifth double-double of the season.

Majauskas came off the bench to score 18 points and pull down nine rebounds. That was the second-highest point total of the season for Majauskas and tied his season-high for rebounds.

Dakarai Henderson was big off the bench, scoring 11 points in the first half. He was a perfect three-for-three from three-point range before halftime.

Abilene Christian started the game hot from three-point range and hit three of their first five shots from beyond the arc. The Wildcats cooled off and finished the first half just 3-of-9 from three-point range.

Sam Houston turned the ball over just seven times while they forced 18 ACU turnovers. The Bearkats turned the 18 turnovers into 22 points.

The Kats never trailed in the game and led by as many as 27 points.

SHSU will hit the road for the next two games, playing at Central Arkansas Saturday, Feb. 21 and at A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday, Feb. 28.