HUNTSVILLE — Western Kentucky made some key shots late to hand Sam Houston a 75-66 loss at Johnson Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
The Bearkats (8-13 overall) fell to 1-7 in Conference USA play as the Hilltoppers (12-8) improved to 3-4. Sam Houston has a bye this coming week with only one game on tap Saturday at Louisiana Tech as the Kats aim to end a four-game losing skid.
Cameron Huefner led Sam Houston with 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
Marcus Boykin added 13 points, and
Lamar Wilkerson and
Kalifa Sakho both scored 12.
This was another two-horse race out of the gate as nether team backed down in a hotly contested matchup.
Western Kentucky had a two-point lead at half time, and the Bearkats fought back to take a 49-46 lead on a layup by
Dorian Finister. The Hilltoppers managed to claw back and take a 58-53 advantage around the seven-minute mark, WKU's biggest lead of the game.
The dagger came less than a minute later when a 3-pointer made it an eight-point game. The Kats kept fighting as they always do with Wilkerson connecting on a 3 to make it a four-point deficit with two minutes left but they could not get closer.
The second half played out just like the first. Lead changes and clutch plays kept the crowd on the edge of its seat.
With just over eight minutes left in the opening period,
Josiah Hammons landed a 3 for a 25-18 advantage, Sam Houston's largest of the half. Huefner hit his third 3 of the half for a six-point lead on the return trip down the court.
The teams basically traded buckets the rest of the half, but the Hilltoppers were able to score right before the clock expired to head into the locker room up 36-34.
