LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Just as quickly as the New Mexico State fans entered the building, they left after watching Sam Houston dismantle the Aggies en route to a 79-58 victory at the Pan American Center on Thursday.
Lamar Wilkerson led four players in double figures with 25 points thanks to seven 3-pointers as the Bearkats remained in first place in Conference USA at 9-3 with the win.
Marcus Boykin added 13 points,
Davon Barnes 12 and
Souleymane Doumbia 11 as Sam Houston improved to 16-11 overall.
After a near flawless first half for the orange and black, NM State (11-16, 5-7) used a 13-6 run to open the second to pull within 54-36. That bit of hope was short lived, however.
With both teams failing to score for more than two minutes, Boykin got Sam Houston rolling again with a pair of free throws then drilled a 3 to make it 59-37.
Barnes would later score four unanswered to give the Kats their biggest lead at 77-49 and put the game on ice.
Sam Houston silenced the crowd in the first half by getting off to a tremendous start to take control of the game.
The hot hand belonged to Wilkerson. He was 7 for 7 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes as the Bearkats built a double-digit lead.
He drilled a 3 with 7:16 left in the half to put Sam Houston up 31-14, its biggest lead up until that point. He quickly followed with another to push the lead to 17.
The junior from Ashdown, Arkansas hit back-to-back 3s again with under three minutes left to increase the lead to 44-21.
Marcus Boykin then closed the half with an and one to send the Kats into the break with a 48-23 advantage.
Sam Houston was about as hot as a team could be shooting in the first half. The Bearkats shot 52 percent from the field, while holding the Aggies to 32 percent, and a remarkable 67 percent from 3 with
Jaden Ray and
Davon Barnes also connecting from long range in the period.
NOTES
•
Lamar Wilkerson's 7 for 7 start from 3-point range tied former Bearkat Felton Freeman for the best start from long range in program history. Freeman was 7 for 7 for the game against TCU during the 2002-03 season, the first year Sam Houston qualified for the NCAA Tournament by winning the Southland Conference regular season and tournament championships.
• Wilkerson's seven 3s is tied for the third most made in a game in program history. Corey Allmond made 11 against Kentucky at Rupp Arena in 2009-10, and three others have made eight.
• The Bearkats outrebounded NM State 37-21. It was the fifth time Sam Houston has outrebounded a team by double digits.
