A&M-Corpus Christi hosts Kats Saturday at 7:30
2/5/2016 3:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Help The Success Continue
Become a Bearkat Champion Now
The Sam Houston men complete a three-game road swing Saturday night at A&M-Corpus Christi before playing five of their last seven games at home. The Islanders (16-5, SLC 7-2) enter the contest in third place in the Southland Conference standings. Sam Houston (12-11, SLC 7-3) stands in fifth. A&M-Corpus Christi is looking to get back on track following back-to-back losses. The Islanders started Southland action with seven consecutive victories. Saturday is homecoming for A&M-Corpus Christi.
RADIO
The Sam Houston versus A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball at 7:30 p.m. at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi will be broadcast live on KSAM 101.7 FM in the Walker County area.
TELEVISION
ROOT Sports Southwest
Video Stream: Southland YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/c/SouthlandConferenceDigitalNetwork/live
BEARKATS VERSUS ISLANDERS ALL-TIME SERIES
Sam Houston and A&M-Corpus Christi meet for the 24th time Saturday. The Bearkats lead the series 16 victories to seven. Last year the pair played three times with the Kats winning in Huntsville 67-59, the Islanders winning in Corpus Christi 51-49 and Sam advancing to the finals of the Southland tournament in Katy with a 70-67 semifinal victory.
SAM HOUSTON'S SOUTHLAND LEADERS
Aurimas Majauskas and Dakarai Henderson rank 11th and 12th in scoring in the Southland with respective averages of 14.4 and 13.5 points. Majauskas stands No. 8 in the league in field goal pct. (.544). Torry Butler is No. 9 in league rebounds with 6.2 boards per contest. Jamal Williams stands No. 7 in the league in assists with 4.5 per game this season.
ISLANDERS SCOUTING REPORT
Rashawn Thomas, a 6-8 forward who has won multiple Southland “Player of the Week” honors this season, ranks third in the league in scoring (17.3 points) and number one in rebounds (8.3). Brandon Pye, a 6-0 guard, also is scoring in double figures with 11.7 points per game. Bryce Douvier is the team's leading rebounder. The 6-7 senior is pulling down 6.8 boards per contest.
FIELD GOAL PCT. DEFENSE KEY STATISTIC
A key statistic relating to Bearkat success this season is field goal percentage defense. With a 7-3 league mark, Sam Houston stands third in the SLC in field goal pct. defense mark of .428 in Southland games. For the year, Sam Houston has limited foes to .395 from the field in the Kats 12 victories. In the Sam men's losses, opponents have hit .482.
FOUR TRANSFERS FINDING ROLES AS BEARKATS
Junior college transfers 6-1 Jalin Barnes (Barton County), 6-5 Torry Butler (Three Rivers Community College), 6-8 Andre Sands (Casper College) and 6-0 Jovante' Spivey (South Georgia State) have stepped up for the Sam men this season.
Spivey has posted double figure scoring games in five of his last six outings with a season best of 18 points in the victory over Abilene Christian. Butler leads the Kats with 6.0 rebounds per game and owns a 6.2 scoring average. Barnes and Sands average 3.9 and 3.6 points, respectively.
COACH JASON HOOTEN SAYS
“It's always a battle against A&M-Corpus Christi. They're an extremely well-coached team. We have to limit the mistakes. We can't get off to a slow start and expect to dig ourselves out of a hole. We have to keep up the intensity on defense and on the boards. We're starting to see what Jovante' Spivey can do. He put up some big numbers in junior college and we're seeing some of that in our games lately. We're looking for more big nights out of him.”
THREE RETURNING PLAYERS LEADING KATS
Aurimas Majauskas, a 6-8 junior post player; Dakarai Henderson, a 6-2 junior guard and Jamal Williams, a 6-4 sophomore guard all have stepped into starting roles this season after playing as reserves in 2014-15.
Majauskas and Williams has started every game and Henderson has started all but one contest. The trio has accounted for 37.1 of Sam Houston's 74.3 points per game this season. Majauskas owns 14.5 average, Henderson 13.4 and Williams 9.2. Majauskas and Henderson both have scored in double figures 16 times. With preseason All-Southland Paul Baxter and junior transfer Ameer Jackson both out with season-ending injuries, Williams has taken over point guard duties. The sophomore averages 4.4 assists.
RED-SHIRT FRESHMEN MAKING THEIR MARK
Two red-shirt freshmen, 6-6 Albert Almanza and 6-0 Josh Delaney, have stepped up for the Kats. Almanza scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds in his first college start in an 87-76 victory over Nicholls Jan. 18. Almanza has averaged 8-8 points in Southland action. Both can score from beyond the arc. Almanza is 36-of-82 (.439) and Delaney is 26-of-69 (.377) from three-point range for the year.
BENCH HAS PLAYED IMPORTANT ROLE
Sam Houston is averaging 22,3 bench points per game this season. Nine players on the roster are averaging more than 14 minutes per game playing time.
SIX WINS ON THE ROAD THIS SEASON
The Sam men will be seeking their sixth victory outside of Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum this season when they face A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday. Sam's Southland road wins have come at UIW, Northwestern State and Lamar. In non-conference action the Kats defeated LIU-Brooklyn in New York 75-69 and rank away from Bethune-Cookman 71-46 at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic November 27.
KATS RETURN HOME ON SATURDAY FEB 13
Next up after the trip to Corpus Christi will be a rematch with Houston Baptist on Saturday Feb. 13 at 4:30 p.m. at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
