Kats To Kick Off Homestand On Thursday
1/18/2017 3:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game 20
Thursday, Jan. 19 • Huntsville, Texas • 6:30 p.m. CT • Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (6,100)
Sam Houston State (13-6, 4-2 Southland) vs Lamar (11-7, 3-2 Southland)
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HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The Sam Houston State Bearkats have clawed their way back near the top of the Southland Conference standings and will bring a four-game win streak back to Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum when it kicks off a four-game homestand on Thursday against Lamar.
The Kats went on the road for a pair of victories last week at New Orleans and Northwestern State, but will face a new challenge in an upstart Lamar squad that looks poised to pick up its first winning season and return to the Southland Conference Tournament for the first time since advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2012.
Lamar had won three of its first four Southland Conference games before falling last Thursday at Abilene Christian on a halfcourt buzzer-beater as the Wildcats came all the way back from trailing by as much as 15 points in the second half.
This Thursday will pit two of the most tenacious defenses the Southland Conference has to offer with each team ranking in the top 10 nationally in turnovers forced.
THE LAST TIME OUT
Paul Baxter poured in a career-high 23 points and the Sam Houston State Bearkats won their fourth game in a row, 77-68, behind a season-high 11 3-point baskets over Northwestern State on Saturday afternoon at Prather Coliseum.
The Bearkats moved to just a half game back of league-leading New Orleans with the win and did so behind a career-night from Baxter. The fifth-year senior hit a trio of threes and connected on all eight foul shots for his 23 points as one of three Kats to reach double figures.
Sam Houston led by as much as 16 points in the second half before a furious Demon comeback saw them draw back to within three points in the game's final minute before the Kats got the stops and made the foul shots they needed to walk away with the win.
BEARKAT BYTES
- The 13 total wins by Sam Houston are the most by any team in the Southland Conference this season.
- The win over on Thursday over New Orleans marked the third straight game for the Bearkats to hand its opponent its first league loss of the year.
- Sam Houston outrebounded Nicholls 48-27, tying its largest rebounding margin of the season of the year at +21; however, it was the largest rebounding margin for the Bearkats against a Division I opponent in the Jason Hooten era and the largest against a D-1 foe since Sam Houston owned a 42-18 (+24) edge over UTSA in a 70-54 win on Feb. 6, 2008.
- There had not been a Bearkat reach 1,000 career points since Gilberto Clavell did so in the 2010-11 season, one year after Ashton Mitchell had reached the feat. The Kats have had 3 players reach that mark in this season alone after Paul Baxter did so on Saturday, joining Dakarai Henderson and Aurimas Majauskas.
- The Kats went just 11-for-66 (16.6%) from 3-point range in their first 3 league games, but have since found their stroke. In its last 3 games, Sam Houston is 25-for-60 (41.6%), including hitting a season-high 11 triples in Saturday's win at Northwestern State.
SERIES vs LAMAR
Sam Houston is 33-31 all-time vs the Cardinals and despite having a two-game advantage in the all-time series, has dominated it of late. The Kats have won 11 of 12 over the Cardinals since 2009-10. Even more, Sam is 23-8 in 31 meetings since 1999-00 while Jason Hooten is 9-1 vs Lamar.
