BOISE, Idaho — Sam Houston had to hold its breath in the final second as Idaho State missed a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer in an 84-81 victory at the Holiday Hoops Classic at ICCU Arena on Wednesday.
The Bearkats (4-2) rallied from a late, second-half deficit to earn the win as senior
Damon Nicholas Jr. hit what would prove to be the game-winning shot with 35 seconds left in the game. Senior
Kashie Natt scored a career-high 26 points to lead Sam Houston to its third straight victory.
The Kats built a four-point lead in the opening half, but a slow start to the second allowed the Bengals (3-4) to flip the script. Sam Houston kept clawing and erased its own four-point deficit when sophomore
Isaiah Manning knocked in a 3 to pull within 51-50.
It was back and forth from there.
Midway through the final half, the Bearkats' persistence paid off as they kept battling. A pull-up jumper by senior
Po'Boigh King, who scored 12, after a pair of free throws by sophomore
Justin Begg allowed Sam Houston to retake the lead at 60-58.
Idaho State would answer each time, mainly at the foul line. The Bengals went 32 of 41 from the line, outscoring the Bearkats by 10, and grabbed a 78-77 lead with a pair of free throws at the 1:08 mark.
Begg, who added 16 points and five assists, made the pass of the game when he drove the lane then kicked the ball out to Nicholas, who was wide open at the top left corner of the arc. Without hesitation, Nicholas calmy drilled the 3 to give the Kats an 80-78 lead which they never relinquished.
The Bengals used an official clock review to draw up a final play with 1.1 seconds left on the clock. Idaho State got the open shot only to see it just miss the mark.
Sam Houston will take Thanksgiving off before closing out the Holiday Hoops Classic on Friday with a matchup against Idaho at 8 p.m. on ESPN+.
