Men's Basketball Southland Tournament Notes
3/12/2015 2:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SOUTHLAND TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Merrell Center - Katy, Texas
Wednesday, March 11
Game #1 - No. 5 McNeese State 62, No. 8 Southeastern La. 60 (OT)
Game #2 - No. 7 New Orleans 82, No. 4 Nicholls 73
Thursday, March 12
Game #3 - No. 4 Northwestern St. vs. No. 5 McNeese State, 5 p.m.
Game #4 - No. 3 A&M-Corpus Christi vs. No. 7 New Orleans, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 13
Game #5 - No. 1 SFA vs. Winner Game #3, 5 p.m.
Game #6 - No. 2 Sam Houston vs. Winner Game #4, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 14
Game #7 - Championship Game, 8:30 p.m.
SAM HOUSTON AT THE SOUTHLAND TOURNAMENT
Sam Houston is making its 18th appearance in the Southland Conference men's basketball post-season tournament in 2015. The Bearkats own an overall record of 16 wins and 15 losses in the event. The SHSU men won the tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Championships in 2003 and 2010.
Sam Houston has reached the Southland finals four times, winning in 2003 and 2010. The finals losses were to Northwestern State in 2006 and to Stephen F. Austin last year. Earning a bye into the semifinals as No. 2 seed in the tournament, Sam Houston is making its 11th semifinals appearance.
COACH JASON HOOTEN AT THE SOUTHLAND TOURNAMENT
Before Jason Hooten came to Sam Houston in 2004-05, the Bearkats had gone 4-6 in the Southland tournament. Since Hooten joined the staff as an assistant coach and later as head coach, the SHSU men are 12-9 in league post-season action.
With Hooten on the sidelines for each of Sam Houston's last 10 tournament appearances, the Bearkats have reached the semifinals seven times. Three of those years the Bearkats advanced to the championship game.
Hooten's past two trips to Katy have been especially successful. Seeded No. 6 in 2013, the Kats battled reached the semifinals defeating No. 7 seed Central Arkansas 69-63 and No. 3 seed Oral Roberts 58-55 before falling to the eventual tournament champion Northwestern State 55-52. Last year, the No. 3 seeded Kats reached topped No. 6 seed Oral Roberts and No. 2 seed A&M-Corpus Christi to reach the finals against SFA.
SENIOR DOMINATED SQUAD IN 2015
Five seniors who have led the SHSU men to back-to-back 20-victory seasons and 79 wins during the past four years form the heart of the 2015 Bearkat squad.
DeMarcus Gatlin, Michael Holyfield, Marquel McKinney, Jabari Peters and Kaheem Ransom have combined to score 3,348 points for the Bearkats. The group's total starts include 326 games. The quintet has logged 10,007 minutes of playing time for SHSU. This year the five seniors have accounted for 40.5 of Sam Houston's 74.0 points per game.
FOUR BEARKATS SELECTED ALL-SOUTHLAND
Sam Houston's four senior starters all have been named to the 2015 All-Southland Conference team.
The 2015 season marks the first time in Sam Houston's 28 seasons in the Southland that four Bearkats have been named all-league. Three players were named as either first, second or third team honorees during the 2000, 2003 and 2010 championship seasons and in 2006 and 2007.
Jabari Peters was a second-team selection while Kaheem Ransom, Michael Holyfield and DeMarcus Gatlin were name to the second team all-league honor squad.
Holyfield also was named Southland Conference “Defensive Player of the Year” and was a member of the five-man All-Defensive team.
Peters and Ransom both have earned All-Southland honors each of their two years at Sam Houston. The pair were both third team selections following the 2013-14 season.
EIGHTH 20-VICTORY SEASON AT NCAA DIVISION I LEVEL
With a 24-6 record, the 2015 Bearkats stand as Sam Houston's eighth 20-win team at the NCAA Division I level. Sam Houston's previous NCAA Division I 20-win teams have been 2000 22-7; 2003 23-7; 2006 22-9; 2007 21-10; 2008 23-8; 2010 25-8 and 2014 24-11 (20-9). Head Coach Jason Hooten has been a part of six of the 20-win seasons since joining the Bearkat staff as an assistant in the 2005 season.
A victory in Friday's semifinal game in Katy would earn the 2015 team a tie with the 2010 squad for the most victories (25) in an NCAA Division I men's basketball season at Sam Houston State.
TWO ALL-TOURNAMENT PLAYERS RETURN TO KATY
Sam Houston senior guards Jabari Peters and Kaheem Ransom both were named to the Southland All-Tournament team after leading the Kats to the finals last year. The 2015 Bearkats defeated ORU and A&M-Corpus Christi to reach the finals against Stephen F. Austin.
Ransom scored 40 points (13.3 ppg) and 12 boards in the three games while Peters added 33 points (11.0 ppg) and pulled down 12 rebounds.
Ten Bearkats have been selected Southland All-Tournament. Two (Donald Cole in 2003 and Ashton Mitchell in 2010) earned tournament MVP honors. Other Kat all-tournament honorees include Gilberto Clavell (2010 & 2011), Eddy Fobbs (2003), John Gardiner (2006), Darius Gatson (2013), Jejuan Plair (2006) and Seneca Wall (2001).
SAM HOUSTON'S LOSSES THIS YEAR
The Bearkats' losses this season have come at the hands of teams that have combined for a 131-55 overall record (. 704 winning pct.) During non-conference play, Sam Houston took three tradition powers to the wire. The Kats lost by two at UNLV 59-57 and by three at Texas A&M 66-63. Sam Houston had 3-point shots at the buzzer for a win at UNLV and a tie at Aggieland. The Bearkats lost at LSU by nine 76-67 but were within four points in the final minutes.
The SHSU men hold NCAA Division I non-conference victories over Eastern Washington, South Dakota (in triple OT), Fairfield and UTPA.
SOUTHLAND'S TOP DEFENSIVE TEAM
Sam Houston leads the Southland Conference in scoring defense (58.7), field goal percentage defense (.383) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.314). The Kats have held opponents to 50 or less points in eight games. The Bearkats are averaging 17.2 points per game on opponent turnovers.
BEARKATS FEATURE BALANCED ATTACK
A key to Sam Houston's success has been a balanced scoring attack. Seven players are averaging 7.0 points per game or more. DeMarcus Gatlin (10.9 ppg) and Kaheem Ransom (10.0) are scoring in double figures. Other top averages are Jabari Peters (9.6), Dakarai Henderson (8.9), Paul Baxter (8.5), Michael Holyfield (8.1), and Aurimas Majauskas (7.6).
Each of the seven players have led the team in scoring in at least one game. Peters and Ransom both have been the scoring leader in nine games and Ransom. The pair are followed by Gatlin (5), Baxter (4), Henderson (3), Majauskas (3) and Holyfield (1).
All together, the seven Bearkats have scored in double figures in 99 games this year. Sam Houston has had five games with five players in double figures and nine contests with four players in double digits.
BEARKATS LEAD SOUTHLAND IN REBOUNDS
The Bearkats stand atop the Southland in rebounding offense (40.6) and rebounding margin (+8.0) for the year.
Michael Holyfield, Sam Houston's 6-11 senior center, stands fourth in the league individually with rebounds with 7.9 per game. Holyfield has been the Bearkats' rebound leader in 21 of its 31 games.
Sam Houston has been out-rebounded by an opponent in only six games this year. The Bearkats are 20-4 in games in which they out-rebounded their foes.
MICHAEL HOLYFIELD BLOCKED SHOTS
Senior 6-11 center Michael Holyfield needs seven more blocks to set a new season Bearkat mark. Holyfield leads the Southland in blocks this year with 75 (an average of 2.4 per game).
Eddy Fobbs holds the school record with 79 blocks during Sam Houston's 2003 championship season.
Holyfield ranks second behind Fobbs in career blocks for the SHSU men. Fobbs blocked 267 shots from 2001 to 2005. Holyfield's career total of 181 blocks stands No. 2 in Kat annals.
SHSU HAS CONSISTENT STARTING LINE-UP
A consistent starting line-up has been a trademark of the Bearkats. Sam Houston started the same line-up all 35 games in 2014. Two of those players - Kaheem Ransom and Jabari Peters - have started each contest in 2015. Paul Baxter and Michael Holyfield each have started all but one contest this year.
DeMarcus Gatlin, who missed the 2014 season with an injury red-shirt, started his first 54 games at Sam Houston as a sophomore and junior. He has started every game since the eighth game of 2015.
This year's starters have played a combined 443 games including 402 total starts. Holyfield has made 105 starts. The other four players in the line-up are Paul Baxter (87 starts), DeMarcus Gatlin (78) and Jabari Peters and Kaheem Ransom (both 66).
SHSU WAS THIRD IN SOUTHLAND PRESEASON POLL
Sam Houston was picked to finish third behind Stephen F. Austin and Northwestern State in the annual preseason poll of league head coaches. Bearkat senior guards Jabari Peters and Kaheem Ransom were pre-season All-Southland Conference picks.
STRONG PLAY FROM THE BENCH
Sam Houston is averaging 29.3 bench points per contest this season. Top reserve players include perimeter shooting ace Dakarai Henderson (8.9 points per game) and offensive-minded post player Aurimas Majauskas (8.0 points, 4.2 rebounds).
Henderson is the team's top 3-point shooting threat with 56 treys and a 35.4 percentage from behind the arc. He has scored in double figures in 14 games this year.
Majauskas has averaged 13.9 minutes per game and brings the Kats an offensive threat underneath. He is a 53.7 percent shooter with 251 points and 129 rebounds this year.
Jamal Williams, a freshman from Houston Episcopal, has become a key player off the bench as well, averaging 12.8 minutes and 4.3 points.
GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START
In 15 of Sam Houston's 24 victories this year, the Bearkats have led from beginning to end. The Bearkats are 22-1 in games in which they have held a halftime lead. UNLV is the only foe who has trailed Sam Houston at intermission (30-28) and come back to defeat the Kats.
Twice the SHSU men have been tied at halftime. Both times (on the road at Southeastern Louisiana and Lamar) the Kats have surged ahead to win in the second period. The largest margin overcome by SHSU has been 10 points in victories over Fairfield and Eastern Washington. Both deficits occurred in the opening period and the Kats rallied to take a lead into the locker room at halftime.
Sam Houston has won only two of the eight games it has trailed at half. South Dakota held a 33-30 halftime lead but lost in three overtimes to Sam Houston. McNeese led the Kats 30-29 in Huntsville at intermission but lost 69-60.
The Bearkats' slowest starts have come in losses. Sam Houston was down 0-11 at Texas A&M, but rallied to have a three-point shot at the final buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime. After an early two-point lead, the Kats trailed SoCon champion Wofford the rest of the game in a 64-53 loss.
Stephen F. Austin built a 25-5 lead in their first victory over the Kats in Huntsville and were up 13-3 in the opening 20 minutes in the rematch in Nacogdoches. Other losses in which the Kats trailed at halftime were at LSU and A&M-Corpus Christi.
OTHER SOUTHLAND RANKINGS
Southland “Defensive Player of the Year” Michael Holyfield leads the conference in field goal percentage this season with a mark of .636 (96-of-151). Kaheem Ransom stands No. 7 in the league in assists with 4.1 per game.
Ransom and reserve Aurimas Majauskas rank 12th and 15th, respectively, in free throw accuracy. Ransom is 71-of-89 (.798) while Majuaskas has hit 84-of-108 (.778) at the line. Ransom and guard Dakarai Henderson stand eighth and 12th, respectively, in total 3-point baskets with totals of 56 and 53. Jabari Peters ranks eighth in steals with a total of 48 (1.5 per contest).
