Men's Basketball Faces UCA at Home Saturday
2/19/2016 8:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
With five games left in the regular season, Sam Houston remains in the hunt for a top four seed at the Southland Conference Tournament and the bye (or byes) that come with that seed March 9-12 at the Ferrell Center in Katy.
The first and second seeds receive byes into the semifinals while the third and fourth seeds earn a first round bye into the quarterfinals. The winner in Katy receives the Southland's automatic berth in the NCAA Championship tournament.
Stephen F. Austin, 12-0 in league action, is closing in on the top seed. A&M-Corpus Christi (10-3), Houston Baptist (10-4) and Sam Houston (9-4) are locked in a battle for the other three seeds.
The Bearkats face a crucial test Saturday afternoon when they take on Central Arkansas at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum. Sam Houston has won its last two games, defeating Houston Baptist 80-68 in Huntsville last Saturday and following up with an 84-71 victory at Abilene Christian Monday.
“That was a big win for us Monday in Abilene,” Sam Houston head coach Jason Hooten said. “In that three-week stretch where we played so many games on the road, we'd win one, then lose one, win another, lose another. It was good to win two in a row and pick up an important road victory. Our guys were really locked in and focused Monday night. That's how we will have to be every game down the stretch.”
Sam Houston hosts UCA Saturday then A&M-Corpus Christi next Saturday before tackling UCA in Conway on Monday, Feb. 20. The Kats finish with Lamar and first place Stephen F. Austin at Johnson Coliseum.
“UCA is one of the most improved teams in the conference,” Hooten said. “They can really score. There's no easy games left on the schedule. We've got five games left and four of the five are at home. All five of those games are really hard ones.”
Juniors Aurimas Majauskas and Dakarai Henderson and sophomore Jamal Williams continue to lead the Bearkats. Majuaskas averages 14.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while Henderson is scoring 13.8 points and leads the team with 50 three-pointers. Williams owns a 9.2 scoring mean and ranks seventh in the league with 4.3 assists per contest.
Junior college transfers Jovante' Spivey and Torry Butler and redshirt freshman Albert Almanza have combined to contribute 23.1 points per game this year.
Central Arkansas is led by 5-11 guard Jordan Howard who is averaging 20.1 points per game. The Bears have three other players scoring in double digits and average 23 three-point field goal attempts per contest.
Defensive intensity and getting off two a good start have been keys for Sam Houston success. In the Kats' 14 victories this year, opponents have shot only 39.8 per cent from the field and just 29.6 percent from beyond the arc. Sam Houston is 12-2 when leading at intermission and has not trailed in the second half of a Southland victory.
“At this time of the year, if you can continually say what I'm going say in the locker room Saturday -- that the next game we play is the hardest and most important game -- then that means you're playing for something,” Hooten said. “We've been fortunate and blessed in our program to be able to be saying that as we've entered the stretch run for the last 10 years.”
KSAM 101.7 FM will carry the game live in the Walker County area. Saturday's contest is the nightcap in a men's and women's doubleheader. The Sam Houston women will take on Central Arkansas at 2 p.m. and the Bearkat men's game will start 30 minutes after completion of the women's tilt.
Tickets for the Southland Conference tournament in Katy as well as for all of the remaining four home regular season games are on sale now online at www.gobearkats.com.
