Jabari Peters scored 20 points and Paul Baxter added 15 to lead Sam Houston to a 67-61 men's basketball victory over Lamar in Beaumont Thursday night.
The victory ups the Bearkats' record to 27-6 for the year and 15-2 in Southland play. The win wraps up a bye into the semifinals of the conference tournament in Katy a week from Saturday.
The SHSU men close out the 2015 regular season this Saturday at Nacogdoches against first place SFA. A victory by the Kats would earn a conference co-championship with the Lumberjacks.
The contest with the Cardinals Thursday was a battle with 12 lead changes and five ties. The Bearkats hit just 38.8 per cent from the field (19-of-49) but were 21-of-30 from the free throw line. Sam Houston's defense also forced the Cardinals into 20 turnovers which the Kats turned into 25 points.
“We've struggled offensively our last two road games,” SHSU head coach Jason Hooten said. “We need to get things figured out offensively quickly. But give Lamar credit. Their kids really battled. Getting 25 points off their turnovers was big.”
Anthony Holiday led Lamar with 20 points. The Cardinals finish the 2015 season with a 16-14 record for the year and a 10-8 mark in Southland.
Gatlin made the play of the game with 2:42 remaining with Sam Houston holding a shaky four point lead 56-52. With only two seconds left on the shot clock, the senior guard caught an inbounds pass from Jabari Peters and nailed a three from the corner to put the Kats up by seven.
Baxter sparked big Bearkat runs in both halves as well.
“DeMarcus Gatlin and Paul Baxter are two with the toughness to make the big plays,” Hooten said. “Gatlin's basket on the inbounds play was a senior knowing what to do. And it was great to see Jabari get 20 points. He played more aggressively tonight and that's something we need to see him do.”
Sam Houston hit seven free throws in the final minute and six seconds to clinch the victory.
Michael Holyfield led the Bearkats with six rebounds. He also blocked a pair of shots to up his season total to 73, six short of Eddy Fobbs' school season record of 79.
Sam Houston started slow, hitting only three of the first 12 shots as the two teams exchanged leads four times in the first 10 minutes.
But, with Lamar leading 10-9, Peters scored three consecutive baskets to spark a 13-2 Bearkat run as the SHSU men went up 22-12 with 6:39 remaining before intermission.
Holliday led a Cardinal run as Lamar outscored the Kats 18-8 in the final six minutes of the first half to knot up the contest 32-32 at intermission.
Three consecutive baskets by Baxter gave Sam Houston a 43-35 lead four minutes into the second period. Holiday again sparked a Cardinal comeback, putting Lamar ahead once again 46-45 with a steal and a dunk at the 9:15 mark.
Ransom and Peters got the lead back for the SHSU men with back-to-back treys as the Kats took a 51-46 lead with 8:18 to play. But Lamar hung on, cutting the margin to four again to set up Gatlin's big play.
Tip off Saturday at Stephen F. Austin is at 6:30 p.m.
