Kats eliminated in CUSA semifinals

Friday, March 13

Huntsville, Ala.

2:00 PM

22-11,13-7CUSA

Kennesaw State

20-13,10-10CUSA

Kennesaw St.

Sam Houston

Kats eliminated in CUSA semifinals

3/13/2026 6:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A short-handed bench finally caught up to the Bearkats when the season was on the line.

No. 2 Sam Houston, down to just seven players due to injuries, could not fend off a second-half rally in a 79-73 loss to No. 6 Kennesaw State in the semifinals of the Conference USA Championships at Propst Arena on Friday afternoon.

The Bearkats (22-11) were without leading scorer Po'Boigh King who was unable to play for the third time in the past four games due to a back injury but got solid performances by freshman Jacobe Coleman who led the team with 18 points, and Veljko Ilic who added 17 points and seven rebounds.

Kashie Natt became the first Sam Houston player to post back-to-back double-doubles in the conference tournament since Michael Holyfield did it in 2015 by scoring 13 points and pulling down a game-high 13 boards. Freshman Jacob Walker also finished with 17 points and dished out six assists as all five starters each played 30 or more minutes.

The Bearkats clawed their way to a six-point lead at the half, but the Owls (20-13) were able to tie it at 44 to open the second period thanks to a 13-7 run. KSU would take the lead less than a minute later with two unanswered buckets.

Down 56-51 with just over 11 minutes to go, Sam Houston got a key 3 from senior Damon Nicholas Jr., who added eight points and five rebounds. The Owls responded, and Walker drove for a reverse layup to make it a two-point game.

KSU hit a 3 at the top of the key with just under seven minutes on the clock to put the Kats in a seven-point hole, but they weren't out of it yet.

Natt made a pair of free throws then Sam Houston forced a turnover that resulted in a tip in by Walker. A steal by Ilic led to Coleman making another clutch shot, this time a 3 from the right corner to tie it at 67 at the 4:46 mark.

A 12-6 run by the Owls to close out the game ended any chance the Bearkats had at making a comeback.

Sam Houston had another off-night shooting from long range, hitting just 6 for 25, or 24 percent, of its 3-point attempts. The Bearkats also went 13 for 20 from the free throw line, with some of the misses coming down the stretch with the game still in the balance.

Despite the early exit in the conference tournament, Sam Houston won more than 20 games for the second time in three seasons even though the Kats lost four players to season-ending injuries. King, who averages 14.1 points per game, strained his back during warmups at Delaware on March 5 and sat in losses to the Blue Hens and Liberty to close out the regular season before returning with seven points in 25 minutes of Wednesday's 79-72 quarterfinal win over NM State.