SAN MARCOS — Sam Houston held off a scrappy Texas State squad to pull out a 69-62 victory at Strahan Arena on Saturday.
The Bearkats (9-2) held the Bobcats (6-6) to just 35 percent shooting, but Texas State hung around by knocking down 25 of 28 free throw attempts. Sam Houston shot 45 percent from the floor and drilled eight 3-pointers which helped the Kats overcome the differential at the line.
Donte Powers led Sam Houston with 18 points on 5 for 8 shooting from 3-point range.
Javion May chipped in 13 points, and
Qua Grant and
Cameron Huefner each scored nine.
Powers gave the Bearkats a 10-point lead with a 3 at the 2:03 mark of the second half. Texas State then answered with four straight free throws to make it a two-possession game with just over a minute left in the game.
Sam had a chance to put the game on ice at the free throw but missed six straight attempts as the Bobcats cut the lead to 67-62.
Jaden Ray, who had five points, finally ended the drought with a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to seal the victory.
The Bobcats grabbed the early lead to open the game, but Sam Houston came roaring back. The Bearkats went on a 12-3 run thanks to baskets by Huefner, Grant and
Tristan Ikpe and free throws by May and
Kaosi Ezeagu to go up 14-10.
Damon Nicholas Jr. made a couple of free throws to give Sam Houston its biggest advantage of the first 20 minutes at 19-12. The battle was on from there.
Texas State came back to take the lead on back-to-back 3s with just under eight minutes to go at 26-24. Powers answered with a 3 and the two teams traded the lead the rest of the way until the Kats were able to finish the half up 39-34 thanks to another 3 by Powers who also hit a free throw before
Kian Scroggins, who had six points and six rebounds, scored on a layup in the final seconds.
Sam Houston returns home to host Arlington Baptist as part of a doubleheader with the women's team on Tuesday. The women tip at 2 p.m. followed by the men at 4:30.
