Bearkats Secure First Place in Conference USA, Beating New Mexico State 79-67
Press Release from GoBearkats.com
HUNTSVILLE — Sam Houston took down former head coach Jason Hooten and New Mexico State 79-67 at Johnson Coliseum on Thursday.
Head coach Chris Mudge and the Bearkats (11-9, 4-1) took control of first place in Conference USA with their win today, as they own the tiebreaker against Louisiana Tech thanks to their win against the Bulldogs earlier in the season.
It was a back-and-forth game from tip-off, with Sam Houston striking first with two early 3s from Damon Nicholas Jr. From there, NM State eventually fought back to take the lead thanks to 11 first-half points from Femi Odukale.
A 10-3 run by the Bearkats, capped off by a Lamar Wilkerson 3-pointer, would give Sam Houston a 38-37 lead at halftime. From there, the Kats wouldn’t look back.
Led by Davon Barnes, the Kats outscored New Mexico State by 11 points in the second half. They would receive a tremendous closing effort by Owen McGlashan, whose eight points, three rebounds, and a timely block would seal the win for Sam Houston.
Barnes led the way with 20 points, Soulemane Doumbia had 11 points and nine rebounds and Marcus Boykin added 10 points. Kian Scorggins also contributed with 7 points and 8 rebounds.
NOTES
- The Kats did not need a whole lot from leading scorer Lamar Wilkerson. This was the fewest points he has scored since the loss against Texas State on Dec. 15.
- Sam Houston had 10 more total rebounds than the Aggies, this was the 10th time this has happened this season and the second time the rebounds margin was 10 or more.
- Bench play was huge for Sam Houston, totaling 23 points off of the bench, their most since the win against Dallas on Jan. 2.
Sam Houston will remain at home to face UTEP on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m.
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