KATY — The Sam Houston men's basketball season came to a close with a 70-69 loss in the quarterfinals of the Southland Conference Tournament at the Merrell Center Thursday night.
 
Lamar scored the game-winning free throw in the final seconds and a last second half-court heave at the buzzer by junior Zach Nutall hit off the top of the backboard to seal the victory for the Cardinals, who will face Abilene Christian in the semifinals Friday.
 
Nutall scored a game-high 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the setback. Junior Tristan Ikpe pulled down 10 boards, and junior Javion May had eight rebounds as both players scored six points for the Bearkats (19-9).
 
Lamar (10-17) enjoyed one of its best 3-point shooting nights of the season, going eight of 14 from behind the arc.
 
The Cardinals led 56-48 midway through the second half when the Bearkats woke up and went on a 14-2 run to go up four.
 
At one point, Nutall was responsible for an 11-2 run of his own during that stretch. He got it going with a 3 and a layup. Lamar scored a basket, then Nutall answered with a free throw, a driving layup and another 3 to put SHSU up 59-58 with 7:33 to go.
 
Freshman Jarren Cook capped the run with a 3 from the left corner and the game went back and forth from there.