Showdown With SFA Jacks Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
3/6/2015 11:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The two top teams in the Southland Conference will decide the men's basketball championship Saturday in Nacogdoches when Sam Houston travels to take on Stephen F. Austin.
A victory by the Bearkats will give the SHSU men a co-championship with the Lumberjacks. An SFA win means the Jacks are undisputed winners of the league crown.
Both teams have locked up the top two seeds in the Southland Conference Tournament in Katy next week, thereby earning a bye straight into Friday night's semifinal round.
“Coming into the final regular season game playing for a title is what you work to do,” Sam Houston head coach Jason Hooten said. “Our players have worked hard to get ourselves to this point. They know what we have to do. It's going to be a difficult environment over in Nacogdoches.”
The Lumberjacks stand 26-4 for the year and 16-1 in league action. Sam Houston is 24-6 overall and 15-2 in conference play.
Stephen F. Austin defeated the Bearkats 79-68 in their first meeting in Huntsville on January 24. A slow start stymied the Kats. The SHSU men missed their first nine shots of the game and committed six turnovers to SFA's one to fall behind 25-5. Sam Houston came back to cut the lead to nine but never could get over the hump.
The Jacks are led by Thomas Walkup and Jacob Parker who rank seventh and 12th, respectively, in scoring in the Southland. Walkup is averaging 15.4 points while Parker owns a 14.5 scoring mean.
Sam Houston does not have a player in the top 20 in the league in scoring. Rather, the Bearkats feature a balanced attack with seven players averaging 8.0 points per game or more. DeMarcus Gatlin (11.1 ppg) and Kaheem Ransom (10.3) lead SHSU, scoring in double figures.
The Bearkats' strength is defense. SHSU leads the Southland Conference in scoring defense (58.2), scoring margin (+16.5), field goal percentage defense (.380) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.313). 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.
Saturday's game will be televised on the internet on ESPN3. KSAM 101.7 FM will carry live play-by-play in the Walker County area.
