HUNTSVILLE — In a battle of two of the Southland Conference's unbeaten, the Sam Houston men's basketball team knocked off Abilene Christian 64-57 at Johnson Coliseum Wednesday night.
Senior
Demarkus Lampley scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Bearkats (12-5, 6-0 in SLC) to their ninth straight victory. Junior
Zach Nutall recorded his second double-double of the season with 14 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, while junior
Tristan Ikpe gave SHSU a spark under the basket with 12 rebounds and seven points.
The Bearkats led for all but 15 seconds of the game, but the Wildcats (11-3, 3-1) didn't make it easy. ACU went on a 6-0 run to get as close as two at 46-44 with 14:16 left in the game.
Sam Houston responded with a 7-0 run on baskets by freshman
Bryce Monroe, Ikpe and a free throw from Nutall to take a 53-44 advantage with just over 11 minutes to go in the game. Junior
Donte Powers put the Kats back up 11 with a layup three minutes later.
SHSU shot 40 percent for the game, while holding ACU to 38 percent. The Kats also outrebounded 47-33.
The duo of Nutall and Lampley had the hot hand in the first half as the Bearkats led for all but 15 seconds of the first half. The pair combined for 34 points as SHSU shot 52 percent from the floor (14 for 27) and 50 percent from behind the arc (five for 10) in the first 20 minutes.
Lampley converted a four-point play to help the Kats get a little breathing room with an 11-point lead at 15-4 when he was fouled while making a 3-pointer in the left corner and knocked down the free throw at the 14:50 mark. He hit another 3-pointer, one of his four in the half, 30 seconds later to give SHSU its biggest lead of the opening period at 18-6.
ACU got to within six at 34-28 in the first half with a minute and a half to go before the break, but the Bearkats closed the period on a 5-0 run capped by a jumper in the final seconds by Powers to take a 39-28 advantage.
The Bearkats are off this weekend and return to action Jan. 27 on the road at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
