Kats to host McNeese on Senior Night
3/1/2017 12:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game 30
Thursday, March 2 • Huntsville • 7:30 p.m. CT • Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (6,100)
Sam Houston State (18-11, 9-7 Southland) vs McNeese (7-20, 4-12 Southland)
Live Stats • @BearkatsMBB on Twitter • Listen on KSAM • ESPN3
HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston State Bearkats can take a big step in securing a top-five seed in the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament on Thursday when it hosts McNeese in the final home game of the season at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
Thursday will also serve as Senior Night for the Kats as Jesse Lopez Jr., Phillip Jones Jr., Torry Butler, Jovante' Spivey, Aurimas Majauskas, Dakarai Henderson and Paul Baxter will all be honored prior to the game.
The game will be aired live on the ESPN3 online platform and can be viewed on the Watch ESPN app. Randy Mcilvoy will have the call with Matt Pedersen providing analysis.
Fans can also listen live on KSAM 101.7 FM and get updates via Twitter by following @BearkatsMBB.
With just two games left in the regular season for the Bearkats, the picture for the Southland Conference Tournament is slowly coming into focus. New Orleans currently holds a 1-game lead over Stephen F. Austin and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for league title; however, the rest of the seeds are certainly up for grabs. If it started today, the Kats would go to Katy as the No. 5 seed.
SFA currently controls its own destiny for the second double-bye, while the Islanders and Huskies would receive a bye in the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds. Lamar, Southeastern La. and Nicholls also control their own destinies for a Katy berth, while Central Arkansas is just a half game out of the final spot. Northwestern State and McNeese have each been eliminated for a berth in the tournament.
SERIES vs McNEESE
- The Bearkats have won eight of the last 12 meetings with the Cowboys dating back to the 2007-08 season, and are 4-4 under head coach Jason Hooten. Sam Houston already owns a 74-67 win over the Cowboys this season when the Kats had to rally to erase a 34-31 halftime deficit, leading by as much as 11 in the second half. The Kats were led by Chris Galbreath's 10 points and 11 rebounds.
BEARKAT BYTES
- John Dewey III exploded for 31 points in Saturday's loss to Abilene Christian, with 26 coming in the second half. It is the first 30-point game for the Kats since 2011 and the most points by any Bearkat since Gilberto Clavell had 35 at Texas State on March 6, 2010.
- Sam Houston saw its 8-game win streak come to an end the last time they palyed Abilene Christian on February 4. Still, the 8 consecutive conference wins was tied for the longest SLC win streak for the Kats in the Jason Hooten era. The 2014-15 squad also won 8 in a row on their way to a 26-9 overall mark and 15-3 record in league play.
- The 18 total wins by Sam Houston is tied for the most in the Southland Conference this season.
- With its win over Southeastern Louisiana, Sam Houston finished with a 7-0 record in the month of January. It is the first undefeated January for the Kats since joining the Division I ranks.
- The Kats have reached the 70-point mark 22 times this season, going 17-5 in those games. Their first 2 losses when scoring at least 70 points came on the road early in the year at Ohio and Georgia Tech and recently in overtime at Lamar, at Houston Baptist and against Abilene Christian.
- With 2 more wins this season the Kats would reach the 20-win mark for the 17th time in school history and the third time under Jason Hooten, including 3 of the last 4 years. The 18 wins already equals its win total for all of the 2015-16 season.
