New season begins Saturday for Bearkat men
1/1/2016 9:15:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GAME TIME / RADIO COVERAGE
Sam Houston and Incarnate Word are scheduled to tip off at 4:30 p.m. The game is part of a Southland Conference men's and women's doubleheader. The women tip at 2 p.m. KSAM 101.7 FM will carry live play-by-play action of both the women's and men's games versus Incarnate Word Saturday afternoon.
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE OPENER
Sam Houston opens its 2016 Southland Conference schedule versus the University of the Incarnate Word Saturday in San Antonio. The Bearkats have won their Southland opener each of the past three years and 10 of the last 15 seasons. The Sam men defeated UIW 84-78 in Huntsville in the Kats' opener last year.
BEARKATS VERSUS CARDINALS ALL-TIME SERIES
Sam Houston and Incarnate Word meet for the third time Saturday. The series is tied at one victory apiece. UIW won the first meeting 85-74 in San Antonio in 2014.
SAM HOUSTON IN THE SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
Sam Houston enters Southland Conference play averaging 74.3 points per game, the sixth highest mark in the league. The Bearkats rank No. 4 in scoring defense (72.2) and No. 5 in field goal percentage defense (.439). The Kats are the league's second-leading rebounding team with 39.6 boards per game. Aurimas Majauskas ranks 10th in Southland scoring (14..5) and Dakarai Henderson stands 15th (12.6). Torry Butler and Majauskas rank No. 4 and No. 15, respectively, in the league in rebounding with averages of 7.1 and 5.6. Jamal Williams stands ninth in Southland assists (3.6) and fourth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.4).
QUICK LOOK AT INCARNATE WORD
Incarnate Word brings a 5-6 record into Saturday's game that includes NCAA Division I victories over St. John's and Rice. The Cardinals rank fourth in the Southland Conference in scoring offense, averaging 75.8 points per game. UIW stands second in the league in three point accuracy (.361). Jontrell Walker, a 6-1 sophomore guard, leads UIW with 16.9 points per game. Kyle Hittle, a 6-5 forward, averages 14.1 points per contest. The Cardinals stand 3-1 at home this year.
CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Road games at SMU, California, Texas Tech, UTEP and North Texas and a tournament match-up with UC-Irvine made up the Bearkats' challenging non-conference schedule. Sam Houston completed pre-Southland play with a 5-8 record. Sam Houston defeated Bethune-Cookman 71-46 in Las Vegas, picked up a road victory at LIU-Brooklyn 75-69 and took Southern Illinois to overtime at home in other action against NCAA Division I opponents.
THREE 2015 RESERVES NOW IN STARTING ROLES
Aurimas Majauskas, a 6-8 junior post player who was the back-up to Southland “Defensive Player of the Year” Michael Holyfield last season; Dakarai Henderson, a 6-2 junior guard who was the first player off the bench in 2015 and Jamal Williams, a 6-4 sophomore guard who also was a key reserve, all have stepped into starting roles this season. Majauskas and Williams has started every game and Henderson has started all but one contest.
The trio has accounted for 36.6 of Sam Houston's 75.2 points per game this season. Majauskas leads the team with 14.3 points and Henderson adds 13.5 per game. The pair have posted eight and seven double-figure games, respectively. Williams has taken over as the Kats' point guard. He averages 8.8 points and leads the team with 42 assists.
TWO KEY PLAYERS MISSING DUE TO INJURY
Senior guard Paul Baxter, the team's lone returning starter and a preseason All-Southland Conference first team selection and junior transfer Ameer Jackson are out for the season (foot and knee injury, respectively). The two losses leave the Kats without an experienced point guard.
NEWCOMERS FILLING IMPORTANT ROLES
Five new players (one freshman and four transfers) plus a pair of redshirt freshmen are filling important roles for the Bearkats this year. The newcomers include junior college transfers 6-1 Jalin Barnes (Barton County), 6-5 Torry Butler (Three Rivers Community College), 6-8 Andre Sands (Casper College) and 6-0 Jovante' Spivey (South Georgia State).
True Marc Fortin, a 6-9 freshman from Quebec City, Quebec, and redshirts 6-6 Albert Almanza and 6-0 Josh Delaney also have seen considerable action. Butler, Spivey and Barnes all have been utilized as starters at some point during non-conference action. Butler and Spivey rank fourth and fifth on the squad in scoring with averages of 7.8 and 6.2 points per game. Almanza and Delaney have been effective scoring from the perimeter. Almanza is the team's second-leading three-point shooter (17 threes for .340 percentage beyond the arc).
REPLACING FOUR ALL-SOUTHLAND PLAYERS
Sam Houston graduated four starters who each earned All-Southland Conference honors last season. Gone are Southland “Defensive Player of the Year” 6-11 Michael Holyfield (who signed with the Memphis Grizzlies) and guards DeMarcus Gatlin, Jabari Peters and Kaheem Ransom.
FASTEST TO 100 COACHING WINS AT SAM HOUSTON
The Bearkats' 71-46 win over Bethune-Cookman at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic November 27 marked the 100th victory for Jason Hooten as the SHSU men's head coach. He is the sixth head coach in Sam Houston's 96 seasons of play to coach the Kats to 100 or more victories. Earning his 100th victory in the fifth game of his sixth season as head coach, Hooten stands as the fastest to 100 wins at Sam Houston. His record now stands at 103 victories and 75 losses.
COACH JASON HOOTEN SAYS
“Right now, after losing both point guards (Paul Baxter and Ameer Jackson) to injuries, we are playing a guy at the point that has only played six games there his whole career,” Sam Houston head coach said. “We're trying to pierce it together. That's a big loss with those two guys right away.
“Every coach in the league is talking about how their team is 0-0 right now, but it's true. Whoever plays the best for the next 18 games will be the team that gets the No. 1 seed at the Southland tournament in March. The top eight make the tournament. That's the goal right now and we consider it a new season.”
UP NEXT FOR THE KATS
Sam Houston plays in Natchitoches, La., Monday against Northwestern State in a 7 p.m. contest. The Bearkats open their 2016 Southland Conference home schedule on Saturday January 9 against New Orleans at 4:30 p.m.
