Bearkats Back At Home To Face Southern
11/16/2016 5:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game 3
Thursday, Nov. 17 • Huntsville, Texas • 6:30 p.m. • Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (6,100)
Sam Houston State (1-1) vs Southern (0-2)
Live Stats • @BearkatsMBB on Twitter
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The Sam Houston State Bearkats will be looking to rebound from Monday's loss at Ohio when it returns to the friendly confines of Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum to take on Southern on Thursday evening.
The Bearkats fell to 1-1 on the young season on Monday with a 96-75 defeat at the hands of Ohio, despite a double-double from Torry Butler and 18 points from Dakarai Henderson.
Fans can follow along via Live Stats or via Twitter by following @BearkatsMBB.
THE SERIES
This will be the seventh time the Bearkats have met up with the Jaguars with both teams having split the previous six meetings. However, this will be the first time the teams have met nearly 40 years, last coming together on the hardwood for a pair of games during the 1987-88 season. The Kats and Jaguars split those games. Sam Houston is 1-1 all-time against Southern in Huntsville.
THE LAST TIME OUT
The Ohio Bobcats hit 15 three-pointers and never trailed in handing Sam Houston State a 96-75 loss on Monday night at the Convocation Center.
Torry Butler turned in a double-double and Dakarai Henderson had 18 points for the Kats (1-1), but Sam Houston did not have an answer for the Bobcat (2-0) long ball all night. Ohio, who returned 14 players from a 23-win team a year ago, finished the night 15-for-27 from beyond the arc, led by 20 points and nine rebounds from Antonio Campbell.
Sam Houston only turned the ball over 13 times on the night, but finished with just eight assists on 26 made baskets. On the flip side, Ohio assisted on more than half of its 31 makes, turning the ball over just 14 times. The Kats finished edges in both bench points (31-25) and second-chance points (13-11) on the strength of a dozen offensive boards.
NEARING 1,000 POINTS
Senior Dakarai Henderson went for 18 points on Monday at Ohio and is now nearing 1,000 points scored for his career. Henderson now has 986 for his career and needs just 14 more to reach the millennium mark. He would become the 23rd player to reach the plateau, but likely will not be the last this season. Currently teammates Aurimas Majauskas and Paul Baxter are nearing the mark as well. Majauskas enters Thursday with 902 career points while Baxter is at 871.
THE BUTLER DID IT
Torry Butler has been a bright spot in the first two games of the year for Sam Houston State, nearly picking up double-doubles in each game. He opened the year with seven points and 11 rebounds in the opener vs LeTourneau and followed that up with 13 points and 12 rebounds against Ohio, tying his career high in boards. He led the Kats in rebounding in 15 of 32 games in 2015-16.
DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN
In the Bearkats' loss to Ohio, Sam Houston still managed to win the turnover margin, turning the Bobcats over 14 times to just 13 for the Kats. It was the 40th time over the past three seasons Sam Houston has won the turnover margin and just the eighth time the Kats have dropped a game when winning the turnover battle.
REACHING THE CENTURY MARK
The 104 points scored by the Bearkats against LeTourneau was the ninth time Sam Houston has cracked the century mark under head coach Jason Hooten. Sam Houston did it twice last season and has had at least two 100-point outings each of the last three years entering 2016-17.
BRINGING BACK THE BULK
Hooten's squad will boast one of the most experienced rosters in the country in 2016-17, returning all five of its starters and each of its top seven scorers. In fact, the Kats return 85.6 percent of its scoring from last year's 18-win team, an average of 64.2 points per game on the roster from a year ago.
SOUTHLAND FAVORITES
When the annual preseason polls came out from the Southland Conference, it was the Bearkats picked to claim the league crown by both the Southland SIDs and coaches. The Kats received six of 13 first-place votes in the coaches' poll and seven in the SID poll, coming just ahead of four-time defending league champion Stephen F. Austin.
MAJAUSKAS, HENDERSON AND BAXTER NAMED PRESEASON ALL-SOUTHLAND
In addition to the Kats being named the preseason league favorite, seniors Aurimas Majauskas, Dakarai Henderson and Paul Baxter were each named to the preseason all-conference teams. Sam Houston was the only team in the league to boast multiple preseason choices. Majauskas was a first-team preseason selection after earning second team all-Southland honors as a junior, while Henderson and Baxter were both named to the preseason second team.
