SANTA CLARA, Calif. — And the Kats march on.
Cameron Huefner scored with a minute to go, and Sam Houston contested a missed layup with three seconds left to punch its ticket to the second round of the NIT with a 58-56 victory over Santa Clara at the Leavey Center on Wednesday.
The Bearkats will face North Texas on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Denton at the Super Pit with the chance to advance to the quarterfinals. This is Sam Houston's first win in the postseason since knocking off UTSA 76-69 in the CIT in 2018.
The game was a slugfest in the second half as both teams traded baskets down the stretch.
The Broncos tied it at 46 with one of their seven 3-pointers with just over eight minutes to go.
Kaosi Ezeagu, who scored 10 points, put the Kats back on top with a one-handed jumper in the paint.
Santa Clara again answered with a 3, but this time
Lamar Wilkerson put Sam Houston back up one with a mid-range jumper. The Broncos went on a mini 4-0 run to lead by three at the 4:39 mark, but as they have done all season, the Bearkats answered the bell.
Qua Grant, who scored a game-high 21 points, scored four unanswered as Sam Houston retook the lead at 54-53. Santa Clara got a free throw to tie then Wilkerson made two on the other end before the Broncos matched it with two of their own to retie the game at 56 with 1:31 left.
Huefner drilled a jumper in the paint with what would prove to be the game-winner, and Grant grabbed the rebound on the final shot and tossed the ball in the air at midcourt before he could get fouled to run out the clock for the victory.
Kian Scroggins and
Damon Nicholas Jr. had another solid game for the Kats off the bench, scoring seven and five points respectively. Wilkerson finished with six points and Huefner scored five.
