HUNTSVILLE – Sam Houston State used lights-out shooting in the first half and created stops where needed in the second to notch a sixth-straight Southland Conference win, downing A&M-Corpus Christi 76-62 on Saturday evening.

Aurimas Majauskas set a season high with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting while leading the Bearkats with eight rebounds. He was joined by John Dewey III, who produced 16 first-half points and 19 total for the game, his most in 18 games and two off his season-best of 21.

The win moved Sam Houston to 15-6 overall and 6-2 in the Southland while A&M-Corpus Christi fell to 9-9 overall and 2-5 in the league. The Bearkats' Dakarai Henderson reached double-figures with 10 points including 7-of-10 at the free throw line.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After trailing 7-6, Sam Houston went on a 10-2 run while starting 4-of-4 from behind the arc with three different players contributing a trey. John Dewey III opened with a pair of 3-pointers after hitting a season-high four in the Kats' win last time out.

Off the bench, Christopher Galbreath Jr. hit his first three shots from the field. Sam Houston entered the matchup averaging 35.8 points per half but put up 45 against the Islanders, led by 16 points from Dewey.

With 8:03 remaining in the first half, A&M-Corpus Christi trimmed the Bearkats lead back to 10 points but Sam Houston answered courtesy of a Josh Delaney 3-pointer.

Dewey provided back-to-back buckets, extending the Sam Houston lead to a game-high 19 points at 38-19 with 3:25 remaining. The Islanders cut the lead to 13 points but five straight to end the half put the score at 45-27 at the intermission.

Sam Houston did not keep up the same pace early in the second but the Bearkats were able to make up for it on the defensive end. The Kats held the Islanders scoreless over four-plus minutes near the beginning of the third quarter and outscored A&M-Corpus Christi, 7-4 in the opening five minutes.

The Bearkats extended the lead to 23 points with 15:01 remaining on a Majauskas 3-point play but the Islanders began chipping away. A&M-Corpus Christi produced an 8-0 run over 1:17, hitting five straight from the field to trim the lead to 13 points with 10:44 left.

Sam Houston used a 6-0 run over 2:28, holding the Islanders scoreless for 3:24 to extend the lead back to 17 points with 6:11 remaining. Down the stretch, A&M-Corpus Christi was held without a field goal over 3 ½ minutes, allowing the Bearkats to pull away with the win.

UP NEXT
Sam Houston seeks its seventh straight victory next Saturday, taking on Southeastern Louisiana at 6:15 p.m. from Johnson Coliseum. The game will be the third straight at home and tickets are available by calling (936) 294-1729 or by visiting GoBearkats.com.

QUOTABLES
Head coach Jason Hooten on key possessions near end of game…
“I thought the biggest thing about that stretch was that we had a really good defensive team in the game at that time. Jamal played really well and did a great job on No. 3 and Paul guarding No. 4. We got some stops and made them shoot some contested 3's.”

Head coach Jason Hooten on recent surge from team…
“I think this is what I was expecting when we got home from Costa Rica at the very beginning of the year. We play good at times in the fall and at times I wasn't sure how good we could be. We are getting to that point where I think we've got a chance. We still have a lot of room to improve. We need to take better care of the ball and rebound better. I always think we can get better defensively.”

Head coach Jason Hooten on performance of Aurimas Majauskas…
“I'm an old school coach and I was brought up where you throw the ball inside. You do that until somebody stops you. It's kind of like football where you run the ball until they stop it. I think the team is a lot better when we get the ball inside. When he kicks it out, we're making those 3's.”