HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Sam Houston came out on fire but quickly went cold in a 79-65 loss to eighth-seeded UTEP in the opening round of the Conference USA Championships at Propst Arena on Tuesday afternoon.
It marks the second straight season the Miners (18-14) have knocked off the Bearkats (13-19) in the league tournament. UTEP upset top-seeded Sam Houston last season in the semifinals.
The Miners built off their first half momentum that saw the squad come back from a 10-point deficit early as the ninth-seeded Bearkats struggled defensively. UTEP was lights out from 3-point range, going 11 for 22, or 50 percent, from long range through the first 31 minutes of the game to go up 58-50 with just over eight minutes left in the contest.
Sam Houston, on the other hand, had one of its worst shooting games of the season. The Bearkats shot just 10 percent, 2 for 19, from behind the arc which never allowed them to get back in it down the stretch.
The game started off differently. Sam Houston jumped out to a 13-3 lead out of the gate. UTEP was able to trim the lead to 15-12, then the Miners went four minutes without scoring.
Cameron Huefner and
Kalifa Sakho scored to push the lead to 18-12 only to see UTEP tie it once again.
Marcus Boykin laid one in to put Sam Houston up two only to see the Miners respond with back-to-back-to-back 3s to take its first lead of the game at 27-20. The Kats never recovered from there.
Lamar Wilkerson led Sam Houston with 22 points, and Sakho finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. Boykin chipped in 15, and Huefner pulled down nine rebounds.
