HUNTSVILLE — A flurry of clutch plays down the stretch led Sam Houston to a 75-64 victory over Lamar in the program's first Western Athletic Conference game in school history at Johnson Coliseum on Thursday.
 
The Bearkats (6-8 overall, 1-0 WAC) trailed by as much as five in the second half but fought back to take a 58-55 lead on a layup by Demarkus Lampley and a 3-pointer by Savion Flagg. The two teams traded baskets until a pair of free throws by Flagg and a 3 by Donte Powers pushed the advantage to eight following a turnover with 1:41 to go in the game.
 
Lampley came up with a steal and drilled a 3 on the other end to nail down the win in the closing seconds.
 
Flagg led Sam Houston with 22 points and five rebounds, while Lampley added 20 points on 4 for 8 shooting from long range. Powers scored 11 points, and Jaden Ray dished out a career high 11 assists to guide the Bearkat offense.
 
As a team, Sam Houston went 11 for 25 from behind the arc and scored 27 points off 18 Cardinals' turnovers. The Bearkats shot 51 percent from the field to overcome a 34-33 deficit at the half.
 
Lamar (2-12, 0-1) shot 54 percent from the floor but only shot 30 percent from 3, going 3 for 10.
 
The Bearkats will host UTRGV on Monday at 6:30 p.m. in a game that was originally scheduled for Saturday.