HUNTSVILLE — Lamar Wilkerson hit some clutch shots down the stretch to lead Sam Houston to an 81-77 victory over Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA opener at Johnson Coliseum on Saturday.
The Bearkats (8-8, 1-0) let a halftime lead slip away when the Bulldogs (10-6, 0-1) went on an 8-2 run to take a 48-45 lead. Sam Houston fought back and tied it at 52 when
Jaden Ray knocked down a 3-pointer six minutes into the half.
It was a battle from there.
The Kats retook the lead for the first time since the opening minutes of the second half at 61-59 when Wilkerson ran the length of the court and laid a shot off the glass around the nine-minute mark.
Sam Houston began to put some distance between itself and Louisiana Tech when another 3 by Wilkerson fell to make it 72-66.
Davon Barnes would hit a baseline jumper and Wilkerson would too in the closing minutes as the Bearkats were able to hold on for the win.
Wilkerson scored 24 points, one shy of his career high. Barnes finished with 15 points, and
Marcus Boykin was solid off the bench with 11.
Souleymane Doumbia and Ray each scored seven points.
The Bearkats tried to run away with the game in the first half. Sam Houston went on top 32-22 on a 3 by Boykin to cap a 10-3 run at the 7:43 mark.
Louisiana Tech got hot from behind the arc to stomp out the spark. The Bulldogs hit three shots from long range to eventually come back and take a 37-35 advantage.
Wilkerson got Sam Houston cooking again when he followed with consecutive 3-pointers made to retake the lead at 43-40 going into the break.
