Top-Seeded Bearkats Pushed to Limit in 62-57 Win vs. Nicholls
By Brandon C. Williams
Southland.org
KATY, Texas - Three straight seasons of premature exits was enough for Ashton Mitchell, so as crunch time approached Wednesday evening, the Sam Houston State guard went to Bearkats coach Bob Marlin and made one simple request.
"I just told him I wanted the ball in my hands," he said.
Mitchell's wish was granted, as he hit six free throws in the final 4:41 to give top-seeded Sam Houston State a hard-fought 62-57 win over an eighth-seeded Nicholls squad that pushed the Bearkats to the limit.
Mitchell -- who scored a team-high 20 points -- hit his final two free throws with six seconds left finally secure the victory for the Bearkats (23-7), which withstood a dazzling display of marksmanship from Nicholls swingman Anatoly Bose, who scored 40 of Nicholls' (11-19) 57 points.
"Pretty good number eight team, huh?" said Marlin.
Nicholls played like anything but an eighth seed, drawing the Bearkats into a protracted style of basketball trench warfare that nearly pulled off an upset for the Colonels. The commitment to half-court defense worked well for Nicholls, which held Sam Houston to just four fast break points.
The Colonels held the Bearkats to just one field goal in the final 7:13, but Lance Pevehouse's tip-in with 39 seconds left gave Sam Houston much needed breathing space at 60-54.
"We don't mind playing a physical, half-court game," said Nicholls coach J.P. Piper. "That was OK with us, and our guys were up to it. We got the game we wanted, but Sam Houston State was a little more tougher than we were down the stretch."
While the Bearkats were more physical down the stretch, Bose was a challenge all night long.
The 6-6 junior from Australia connected on 15 of his 23 shots, including five from 3-point range. Bose literally put the Colonels on his back in the second half, scoring the team's last 18 points in the final 11:24.
"He's a great player," said Josten Crow, who scored 13 points and added five rebounds and three assists. "He's going to make shots, but you just have to keep playing him hard."
Bose also scored 13 of Nicholls' last 15 points in the first half, including a driving layup as the horn sounded, leaving the Colonels down just 32-27 after they started the game missing seven of their first eight shots.
The Colonels took a brief 41-40 lead on a Bose basket with 11:24 left, but Sam Houston took the lead for good when Mitchell made an acrobatic layup that gave the Bearkats a 46-45 margin with 9:19 remaining.
Without Bose, the Colonels were just 5 of 28 from the field.
The win keeps Sam Houston State in line for their first tournament title since 2003 and erases some of the sting that came from two first-round exits in the last three years.
Still, Marlin knows his team will need to step up their level of play in order to play in Saturday's 3:05 p.m. title game.
"We'll play better," he said. "We need to. We know how special this team can be."