SLC Play Kicks Off On Thursday Against Huskies
12/28/2016 3:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game 14
Thursday, Dec. 29 • Huntsville, Texas • 6:30 p.m. CT • Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (6,100)
Sam Houston State (9-4, 0-0 Southland) vs Houston Baptist (4-6, 0-0 Southland)
Live Stats • @BearkatsMBB on Twitter • Listen on KSAM • Bearkat Sports Network
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – With non-conference play in the rearview mirror, the Southland Conference slate opens up for the Sam Houston State Bearkats on Thursday when they host Houston Baptist at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
The Bearkats, who were the preseason favorite to take the league crown prior to the season, turned in the best preseason mark of any league school at 9-4 and lead the league in field-goal percentage defense while ranking in the top three in the league in scoring offense, scoring margin and rebound margin.
Fans can follow via live stats or by following @BearkatsMBB on Twitter, or listen live on KSAM 101.7 FM with Kooter Roberson on the call. Thursday's game will also be broadcast live for free on the Bearkat Sports Network.
THE LAST TIME OUT
The Sam Houston State Bearkats saw their five-game win streak come to an end on Thursday night as the Arkansas Razorbacks used a strong second half to take a 90-56 win at Verizon Arena.
The Bearkats, playing in their final non-conference game of the season, trailed by just 12 at the half but shot just 25 percent in the second period and finished 3-for-23 from beyond the three-point arc.
Dakarai Henderson finished with a team-best 13 points and Paul Baxter finished with eight, but none of the other eight Bearkats who found the scoring column finished with more than six.
BEARKAT BYTES
- Sam Houston is 16-14 all-time in Southland Conference openers, including 4-2 under head coach Jason Hooten. The Kats have won each of their last four league-opening games dating back to the 2012-13 season.
- The 119 points scored by the Bearkats against Randall was the most points scored by a Bearkats team since putting up 121 against Concordia Lutheran in the 2005-06 season. The Kats have now cracked the century mark 10 times 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 four seasons.
- Senior guard Jovante' Spivey has been a good backcourt spark for the Kats, and has taken full advantage of his trips to the foul line and is a perfect 18-for-18 to start the season from the charity stripe.
- The Bearkats are making things happen on the defensive end, forcing 16.8 turnovers per game. That mark is only slightly behind Lamar in the Southland, and ranks as 23rd in the nation. Sam Houston had not lost a turnover battle this season until Dec. 22, and has won in turnover margin in 10 of 13 games.
- Sam Houston checked in at No. 94 in the latest RPI rating released by the NCAA and is one of only two Southland Conference teams in the RPI top 100, trailing only Nicholls who checked in at No. 62.
- The Kats suffered four losses in non-conference with those teams - Ohio, Georgia Tech, Baylor and Arkansas - combining for an 37-8 record between them this year.
AMONG THE LONE STAR ELITE
With 23 Division I basketball teams within Texas' borders, one does not have to look far within the Lone Star State to find quality teams. In the last 3+ seasons under Jason Hooten, the Bearkats have been one of those teams and enter Thursday vs Arkansas having won 77 games since the beginning of the 2013-14 campaign. The only teams with more wins in that span include SMU (90), Stephen F. Austin (84) and Baylor (82).
BRINGING BACK THE BULK
Hooten's squad boasted one of the most experienced rosters in the country entering the 2016-17 season, returning all five of its starters and each of its top seven scorers. In fact, the Kats returned 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.
GALBREATH GOES BACK-TO-BACK
Junior foroward Chris Galbreath Jr. claimed his second consecutive Southland Conference Player of the Week honor on Dec. 19 after averaging 14.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in wins over Sul Ross and North Texas. He is the first SLC player to win the honor multiple times, having also claimed it a week before after a 26-point effort in a win over Southern Illinois.
BALANCE BEAM
This season's version of the Bearkats features a deep and balanced roster with only one player - Dakarai Henderson (11.6 ppg) - averaging double figures in scoring, but has five averaging at least 9.0 ppg and nine with an average of at least 4.0 ppg. Hooten has kept a steady rotation of players in games with no player averaging more than Henderson's 26.5 minutes per game, which is only 34th among all players in the Southland Conference.
BENCH MARK
Through 13 games, the Bearkat bench has been a major part of this season's early success with Sam's reserves outscoring the opponent's bench in 10 of 13 contests, the lone exception being against Baylor, North Texas and Arkansas. In all, Sam Houston's bench is outscoring its opponent's bench by a 34.6-25.2 margin.
MILLENIUMS
Senior Dakarai Henderson pumped in 14 points in the first half against Southern, reaching the 1,000-point milestone for his career. The senior is just the 23rd player in Bearkat history to reach the plateau and needs 17 points to pass Terry Mathis for 18th on the all-time scoring list. He is also second all-time at Sam Houston with 202 for his career and needs just eight threes to pass Jeremy Burkhalter for that Bearkat record.
But Henderson is not the only Kat to reach the 1,000-point mark as teammate Aurimas Majauskas went for 18 points against Randall to reach the mark and now has give him 1,005 for his Bearkat tenure. Meanwhile, Paul Baxter is nearing the mark as well and enters Thursday's game vs HBU with 955 career points.
KATS ON VERGE OF MID MAJOR TOP 25
Following its 76-70 win over North Texas, Sam Houston made its first appearance in CollegeInsider.com's Mid Major Top 25, checking in at No. 25. They fell out of the poll after a loss to Arkansas, but still have the second-most votes among teams outside of the ranking.
DEWEY MAKING AN IMPACT
John Dewey III has made an immediate impact on the Bearkats, on both ends of the court. The transfer guard has led Sam Houston in scoring and/or assists in more than of its games and he currently ranks second in the SLC in assists (5.0 apg) and 10th in steals (1.8 spg). The Kats are averaging 84.1 points per game since he was inserted into the starting lineup vs Southern.
