HUNTSVILLE — Just when things looked bleak, Sam Houston found a way to pick up a key nonconference win at home.
Jaden Ray hit two free throws in the final seconds to lift the Bearkats to a 63-62 victory over ULM on Tuesday at Johnson Coliseum. He also forced a turnover with four seconds left to ice it as Sam Houston improved to 6-5 on the season.
Ray scored a game-high 16 points and was 8 for 10 from the free throw line.
Davon Barnes added 10 points, and
Marcus Boykin chipped in nine.
The matchup was pretty even throughout the entire game with neither team being able to make the plays to pull away.
After shooting just 30 percent in the first half, ULM caught fire to begin the second. A 3-pointer put the Warhawks up 35-26 but the Kats weren't going to lay down.
Ray and Boykin scored back-to-back baskets to trim the lead to five.
Souleymayne Doumbia eventually tied it at 37 with a layup with just under 14 minutes to go in the game.
Sam Houston came back to take a 47-44 lead on a pair of free throws by
Cameron Huefner and one by Boykin following a technical foul against the Warhawks. ULM fought to retake the lead by one at the 9:15 mark of the second half, and it was back and forth until the Warhawks went up 53-47 four minutes later.
Yet again the Bearkats came battling back. Barnes drilled a 3 and was fouled to convert a four-point play to pull within 53-51.
ULM was able to go back up 56-51 only to see Sam Houston come right back once again.
Damon Nicholas Jr. pulled down an offensive board, laid one off the glass and was fouled to start the latest rally for the Bearkats. He connected on the free throw to cut the lead to 56-54 with under four minutes left in the game.
Again, it was back and forth until Ray was able to get to the line to win it for the Kats.
There wasn't much explosion going on for either team offensively in the first half. The Warhawks led by as many as four at 10-6 13 minutes into the game when Sam Houston finally got going itself.
A layup by Nicholas tied the game at 13, and the Kats took their second lead of the game at 16-13 when
Cameron Huefner buried a 3-pointer following a ULM turnover with just under seven minutes left in the half.
The game was even pretty much the rest of the period, and the Warhawks appeared to be heading into halftime with the lead at 22-21 with under a minute to go.
Owen McGlashan had other ideas and knocked down a 3 to send Sam Houston into the break with a 24-22 advantage despite shooting just 35 percent from the field.
The Bearkats will be back in action at Johnson Coliseum when they host Texas State on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
