HUNTSVILLE — Turn out the lights. The streak is over.
Lamar Wilkerson buried a 3-pointer with just over four minutes left to lift Sam Houston to a 66-61 victory over Conference USA leading Jax State at Johnson Coliseum on Thursday. The Bearkats (9-16, 2-10) snapped a seven-game skid while also ending an eight-game winning streak by the Gamecocks (17-8, 9-3).
Sam Houston was trailing 58-57 with four and a half minutes to go in the game when Wilkerson, who matched his career-high 29 points, drilled a clutch shot from behind the arc for the lead. Jax State came back to tie it at 61, but
Cameron Huefner was fouled on the other end and made both free throws to put the Kats back on top.
Jax State tried to retake the lead with a 3 only to see the shot come up short and fall into the waiting arms of point guard
Marcus Boykin. Boykin made the two biggest free throws of the season for two of his 12 points to make it a four-point game with 13 clicks on the clock.
Brennen Burns then came up with the defensive play of the night to seal the victory when he forced a turnover on the inbound. Wilkerson went 1 for 2 from the line to put a bow on the victory for the defending CUSA champions.
Kalifa Sakho also scored 12 points for the Bearkats along with two blocks as the team shot a blistering 45 percent from the floor. Sam Houston also got the job done at the free throw line, making 13 of 16, or 81 percent, of its attempt.
The Kats will look to make it two wins in a row when Kennesaw State comes to Huntsville on Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. tip.
