NEW ORLEANS – It was a long time coming for Jason Hooten. As the final seconds ticked away at Lakefront Arena a huge smile formed across his face with the realization his squad just won the outright Southland Conference title for the first time in his nine years as a head coach.
The Kats held off second-place New Orleans on Wednesday night 71-60 to improve to 15-1 in league play and notching their 20thwin overall on the season.
“I was kind of worried about our guys coming into this one because we had already clinched that one seed,” Hooten said. “But to just come in here and play hard and physical because you have to against the. I’m just really proud of our guys.”
The Kats had three players in double figures with Cameron Delaney leading the way with 21 points. The senior connected on 5-of-8 from long range as the Bearkats were 12-of-26 as a team from behind the 3-point arc.
Marcus Harris finished the night with 15 points and Albert Almanza added 13 to the victory. Much like Delaney, Harris and Almanza did their damage from 3. Harris hit 3-of-7 and all four of Almanza’s field goals were from three-point range.
The Bearkats played two nearly identical halves. They played the opening 20 minutes and led most of the way. Almanza hit a three with 15:10 left to play in the first half to take an early lead and they never looked back. They took a 38-30 lead at the break and built the lead to 17 midway through the second half.
The Bearkats will have a bye on Saturday and will then get a chance to celebrate the championship as well as senior night at home on March 6 against Central Arkansas. The regular season will wrap up on March 9 in Nacogdoches against SFA.
“That is going to be a special night for these four seniors,” Hooten said. “All of those guys have meant so much to this program and are the reason we are in this position.”
The championship is the fourth for the Bearkats since joining the Southland Conference and the first since the 2010 title. The Bearkats also won regular season titles in 2003 and 2000.
The Bearkats will also be the No. 1 seed in the Southland Tournament in Katy in two weeks. The Bearkats will receive a double bye in the tournament and will open play on March 15 at 5 p.m. at the Merrell Center. Tickets are available for purchase from the Bearkat Ticket office at gobearkats.com/tickets.
