RUSTON, La. — Another close one, and another difficult loss to swallow.
Sam Houston (8-14, 1-8) had one slip away in overtime in a 66-61 loss to Louisiana Tech on Saturday afternoon at Thomas Assembly Center.
All eight of the Bearkats' Conference USA losses have come by single digits as the ball continues to bounce the other way in key moments.
Lamar Wilkerson led the way with 17 points, and
Marcus Boykin and
Cameron Huefner each scored 12.
Sam Houston was poised to finally end a three-game losing skid when Huefner, who came up with the steal to force overtime, nailed a 3-pointer with just under four minutes to go for a 54-51 lead. The Bulldogs (16-6, 5-4) cut it to one then Huefner hit a floater in the lane.
Louisiana Tech was able to fight back to take the lead. A questionable block on a potential game-tying shot where the LA Tech defender appeared to use the rim for leverage and some missed opportunities down the stretch benefitted the Bulldogs in the win.
The was another schoolyard brawl as both teams came out swinging from the opening tip.
The Bearkats finally got a little bit of a cushion when Wilkerson dropped a triple for a 21-18 advantage with 6:29 to go in the first half. After a stop, Boykin gave Sam Houston's its biggest lead when he converted an and one to make it a six-point game.
Louisiana Tech cut the lead to 26-25, but
Dorian Finister scored a pair of free throws to push the lead back to three. The Kats kept the Bulldogs a bay the final few minutes of the half until an offensive rebound led to a 3 at the buzzer to send Sam Houston into the break, trailing 32-30.
The Bearkats have a long road trip next when they travel to Miami to face FIU on Thursday then catch a flight to Lynchburg, Virginia to battle Liberty as the second half of league play begins.
