KENNESAW, Ga. — Sam Houston left it all on the court in a 75-69 loss to Kennesaw State in overtime on Thursday in Conference USA action at the KSU Convocation Center.
Lamar Wilkerson led the Bearkats (7-10, 1-3) with 29 points, all coming in the second half, and
Cameron Huefner added 15.
Marcus Boykins scored eight points, and
Kalifa Sakho and
Cheikh Ndiaye each finished with five.
Sam Houston looked poised to grab its first CUSA road win of the young season with an offensive explosion in the second half after a lackluster first half shooting the ball.
Wilkerson shook off early foul trouble in the opening 20 minutes to team with Huefner for a 3-point shooting clinic. It could not have come at a more ideal time either, as the Kats shot just 31 percent in the first half.
Sam Houston quickly erased a four-point deficit, and it began when Wilkerson scored on a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 31-28 for his first bucket of the night. He was fouled shooting a 3 then made all three shots at the line and tied it at 36 with a layup and another 3.
Huefner joined in and buried a 3 at the 16:03 mark for a 39-36 lead. Wilkerson and Huefner then combined to score the next eight points as the Bearkats built a 48-38 lead three minutes later.
It was far from over as Kennesaw State began to chip away. Sam Houston went scoreless over the next five and half minutes which allowed the Owls (10-7, 2-3) retake the lead thanks to a 11-0 run.
Kalifa Sakho finally ended the drought with a free throw to tie it. Wilkerson was able to grab the lead back at 52-50 with a 3 in the corner. He then got three the old fashion way for a four-point gap with just over four minutes on the clock.
Kennesaw State would not go away and once again retook the lead at 62-60 only to see Wilkerson scored in the closing seconds to send the game to overtime.
Boykin scored on a layup for a quick 64-62 advantage, but the Owls were able to close it out for the win.
The Kats trailed early but found an offensive spark in the form of Huefner and his long-range shooting abilities. He nailed a 3 just to the top left of the top of the key to tie the game at 9, then in almost the exact same spot, he drilled another on the return trip down the court to give Sam Houston the lead since the opening seconds.
The game hit a lull at that point as the pace slowed down.
Erik Taylor gave the Bearkats a 14-13 lead with a basket, but Sam Houston went the next seven minutes without a field goal until
Cheikh Ndiaye scored on a jumper from just outside the free throw line to tie it at 20. Ndiaye was making his debut after missing the previous 17 games recovering from an injury.
The Owls were able to push the lead back to three, but
Marcus Boykin hit a free throw to make it 24-22 with less than two minutes to go in the half. Kennesaw was able to answer with a 5-0 run to go into the break with a 29-22 advantage or so it appeared when
Josiah Hammons drilled a 3 to cut the lead to four in the final seconds.
Sam Houston will make the trip south to Jacksonville, Alabama to face Jax State on Saturday at 3 p.m.
