HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Sam Houston State used a strong second-half start to withstand a late run from North Texas, downing the Mean Green 76-70, backed by a double-double from Christopher Galbreath Jr. on Saturday night.
The win moved Sam Houston to 8-3 on the season as four played scored in double-digits including Galbreath's team-high 16 points. The forward added a career-best 13 rebounds including a pivotal defensive board with 17 seconds remaining and the Kats clinging to a three-point lead.
Dakarai Henderson added 13 points on 5-for-14 from the field for his seventh double-digit performance in 11 games. John Dewey III contributed 12 points – his first double-digit outing in six games – alongside a game-high six assists. Paul Baxter finished with 11 points, matching Henderson with five boards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sam Houston jumped out to a 15-0 run in the second half, building its largest lead of the game at 14. The run came after Sam Houston trailed 34-33 at the break and highlighted a second half where the Bearkats stretched its lead to 15 points with 11:28 remaining.
For the third time in as many games, Galbreath added double-digit scoring, finishing with 16 on 6-of-12 shooting. The junior forward, who came off the bench, tallied 12 second-half points.
The victory snapped a two-game losing streak to the North Texas and moved the Kats to 2-2 in the last four games against the Conference USA foe. Sam Houston won the rebound margin, 39-34 but was particularly dominant on the offensive end, outscoring UNT 13-6 in second chance points.
The Mean Green (5-5) gradually trimmed away at the Sam Houston advantage, hitting six of seven shots to cut the Bearkat lead to five with 2:01 remaining on an A.J. Lawson alley-oop dunk. After a Sam Houston timeout, the Kats responded as Galbreath grabbed an offensive board and was fouled on the play.
The Chicago native made 1 of 2 from the charity stripe to give Sam Houston a 71-65 lead and the Kats came up with a big defensive stop on the other end with 1:06 remaining.
The deficit was trimmed to three at 71-68 with 53 seconds as Lawson stole the ball at midcourt and raced to the bucket, laying it in while being fouled on the possession. On the ensuing throw in, Baxter drew the foul, making both free throws for a five-point advantage.
Another costly foul and turnover from the Bearkats pushed the Sam Houston field-goal drought to 2:50 as North Texas gained possession of the ball with 27 remaining trailing 73-70. With 14.7 seconds remaining, Baxter blocked a 3-point field goal from Ryan Woolridge.
Dewey was fouled on the play and hit a pair of crucial free throws as another defensive stop helped secure the six-point victory. After shooting 0-for-6 from behind the arc in the first half, Sam Houston connected with three treys in the final 20 minutes.
