Kats roll to sixth straight CUSA win

Saturday, January 31

Huntsville

9:00 PM

15-7,7-4CUSA

Louisiana Tech

12-9,5-5CUSA

Louisiana Tech

Sam Houston

Photo by: Sarah Bautista

Kats roll to sixth straight CUSA win

1/31/2026 11:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

HUNTSVILLE — Sam Houston erupted in the second half to coast to a 83-67 victory over Louisiana Tech on Saturday night at Johnson Coliseum.

The Bearkats continue to be on fire and have now won six Conference USA games in a row after beginning the season 0-3 in league play. Jacob Walker was Sam Houston's leading scorer with 20 points, and Po'Boigh King chipped in 15 as the Kats (15-8) pulled into a tie for second place with Missouri State at 7-4.

The Bulldogs (12-9, 5-5) were right in the mix for most of the contest, trailing by only two at the intermission. King opened the second half with a 3-pointer, and sophomore point guard Justin Begg, who scored 11, found senior Veljko Ilic, who added 14 points and eight rebounds, under the basket for a layup to make it 39-32.

Sam Houston got back-to-back layups from Walker and fellow freshman Jacoby Coleman, who poured in 10 points, to go up 11 midway through the second half. Kashie Natt, who grabbed a game-high 11 boards, put what would prove to be the exclamation point on the victory with a steal and a highlight-reel dunk to push the lead to 67-52 at the 5:38 mark and LA Tech never recovered.

The Kats shot 49 percent from the field and continued to dominate in the paint, outscoring the Bullodgs 42-32 under the basket.

The Bearkats looked like they might open a sizable lead in the first half when King converted a three-point play with just under 13 minutes to go before the break. Sam Houston got a stop, and Walker drilled a 3 for the largest lead of the period at 14-8 less than a minute later.

Louisiana Tech went on a 5-0 run and it was a battle from there. The Kats managed to take a 34-32 lead into the break on a layup by Ilic, who helped defend on the other end to keep the Bulldogs from tying it heading into the locker room.

Sam Houston continues its homestand on Wednesday when the Kats host UTEP at 6:30 p.m. in the only regular season meeting between the teams this season.