Basketball Battles UCA Monday at 7 p.m.
2/29/2016 2:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Four times during the intense 2016 Southland Conference men's basketball race, the Bearkats have fallen in hard-fought close games on the road
After each of those losses, three of which were by four points or less, the Sam Houston men have bounced back to pick up a victory.
Saturday the men suffered their fifth league loss at the hands of A&M-Corpus Christi after holding a late lead. Monday night in Conway, Arkansas, the Kats look to show they can bounce back again.
“That's been one of the great characteristics of this team is the way they bounced back from some tough losses,” Sam Houston head coach Jason Hooten said. “We've got high character young men on this team and they know there's still a lot of basketball to be played in this season.”
Sam Houston takes on Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. Monday. The Bearkats defeated UCA in Huntsville 105-75 a week ago. But the team knows the Bears will be a challenge on their home floor.
Central Arkansas puts one of the top offense in the league on the floor. Jordan Howard averages 19.8 points per game and Derrick Brooks adds 12.2 per contest. The Bears are averaging 75.8 points per outing.
A key factor for the Bearkats in the victory in Huntsville was hot-shooting from the outside. Sam Houston went 16-of-33 from beyond the arc, a total two short of the school record of 18 threes set against Kentucky in Rupp Arena in the 2009-10 season. Jalin Barnes hit 5-for-5 from three in the contest.
Three other Bearkats, Dakarai Henderson (18), Jamal Williams (14) and Aurimas Majauskas (13) scored in double figures.
Monday's contest, which will be broadcast live by KSAM 101.7 FM in the Walker County area, is the final regular season road contest for the Bearkats. Sam Houston will complete their regular season campaign with games versus Lamar at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and Stephen F. Austin at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday.
The Bearkats are looking for more victories to nail down a top four seed in the 2016 Southland Tournament next week. The Southland Conference tournament at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas, begins March 9, with the top eight regular season finishers advancing.
