Box Score

CONWAY, Ark. - With a chance to clinch a first round bye in the Southland Conference Tournament next week in Katy, the Sam Houston State men's basketball team fell short on Wednesday night at Central Arkansas.

After trailing by three at the half, the Kats were unable to put anything together in the second half, falling to the Bears 88-70.

“We just didn't play very well and we got beat in every facet,” said head coach Jason Hooten. “They played harder than we did, they executed better than we did and they deserved to win.”

The two teams were back and forth to start the second half before UCA opened the game up with a 16-3 run to take a 16-point lead. The Kats were able to cut the deficit to to 11 on several occasions but never got it back to single digits.

Sam Houston had no answer for the Bears offense. UCA shot 56 percent from the floor, including 10-of-25 from 3-point range.

“We have to do a better job defensively, that's what we are known for,” Hooten said. “We've been a good defensive team but haven't played very good defense the last couple of games.”

The Kats had three players in double figures with Chris Galbreath leading the way with 12. Abrian Edwards scored 11 and Josh Boutte had 10.

The loss drops the Kats to fourth place in the Southland Conference with one game left to play. They will conclude the regular season at home on Saturday against SFA. With a win, the Kats would finish in a tie for third place and earn a first round bye in the conference tournament.