Box Score
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Sam Houston State men's basketball team (3-4) held a 13-point lead at halftime, but a silent second half doomed the Bearkats as the squad dropped a 77-63 decision at East Tennessee State on Tuesday night at Freedom Hall Civic Center.
Kai Mitchell scored a season-high 16 points in a 7-for-10 effort from the field. Josh Delaney was the other Bearkat to reach double digits, tallying 11 on the night. Delaney's three treys put him seventh all-time in Sam Houston career three-pointers with 152.
The Bearkats posted a dominant first half, shooting 51.6 percent from the field and an impressive 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Albert Almanza gave the Sam Houston State offense momentum right off the bat after he knocked down two early three-pointers.
The Bearkats, who surrendered just two free throws in the opening three and a half minutes, went on a 12-2 run that saw buckets from the team's upperclassmen. Mitchell and Marcus Harris combined for six points on the run before the Buccaneers hit their first field goal of the game at the 16:13 mark.
Forcing four turnovers in the first half, the Bearkats took advantage of 18 missed shots from East Tennessee State and didn't allow the Buccaneers second field goal until 12:14 rolled over on the clock.
The Buccaneers went on a five-point run following Bubba Furlong's first bucket of the day and he responded with a strong three-point play in the paint.
After the teams swapped field goals, Harris sparked a 9-0 run for the Bearkats with a trey in the corner. RJ Smith followed up with a three-point play and Delaney knocked down his 150th career three-pointer to put the Bearkats up by 18 points.
After the Buccaneers' Tray Boyd broke up the run with a shot beyond the arc, Delaney responded yet another trey. Boyd and Delaney traded threes once more and Mitchell scored the Bearkats last field goal of the half at 2:14 before three Buccaneer field goals and a layup from Boyd made it a 42-29 game in favor of Sam Houston going into halftime.
Despite the strong first-half performance, Sam Houston scored just 21 points in the second half.
Neither team scored for nearly two minutes, but it was East Tennessee State who scored the first points of the second. The Buccaneers rode a seven-point run before Mitchell halted the momentum with a jumper.
Following another Mitchell jumper, the Buccaneers used two trips to the line and a layup to cut the Bearkats' lead down to two points. Cameron Delaney drilled a field goal beyond the three-point arc to give Sam Houston a little separation but East Tennessee State went off for 11 unanswered points and took its first lead of the game with 10:42 remaining.
Mitchell was mauled under the basket and sank two free throws to stop the bleeding and, after a Buccaneer turnover, he drilled a mid-range jumper to score the Bearkats' fourth field goal in the first 12 minutes to make it a one-possession game.
However, a 16-2 Buccaneer run, that saw a pair of threes from Patrick Good and four points from Isaiah Tisdale, East Tennessee State took a 71-58 lead with three minutes remaining. Cameron Delaney ended the offensive onslaught with a layup in transition, but Jeromy Rodriguez tallied six unanswered points to put East Tennessee State at 77 points on the night.
With time ticking down, Smith drilled his second three-pointer of the night, but Sam Houston fell to 3-4 on the season and the final buzzer sounded.
Boyd finished the night with a game-high 23 points.
Coming Up Next
The Bearkats are set to return to Johnson Coliseum on Wednesday, November 28 for a 6:30 p.m. matchup against Central Michigan. For all the latest information on the Sam Houston State men's basketball team, visit gobearkats.com or follow @BearkatsMBB on Twitter.
