Sam Houston State Rallies to Reach Southland Championship
Southland Conference
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KATY, Texas – For the third time in six years, the Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament title will come down to either Stephen F. Austin or Sam Houston State.
The second-seeded Bearkats rallied from a pair of eight-point deficits in the second half to outlast third-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 70-67 at Merrell Center on Friday night, setting the stage for Sam Houston State (25-7) to meet the top-seeded Lumberjacks for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
Jabari Peters’ fifth 3-pointer of the night snapped a 65-65 tie and gave the Bearkats the lead for good with 1:20 remaining. The Islanders (19-13) turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, but they bounced back to gain another scoring chance with 27 seconds left. Sam Houston State refused to allow A&M-Corpus Christi sniper Brandon Pye to get open, which forced John Jordan to score on a dunk with four seconds remaining.
Kaheem Ransom made both free throws with 3.3 seconds left to seal the deal for the Bearkats, as Jordan’s game-tying attempt glanced off the glass as time expired.
“I really felt that if it came down to the end, we’d win it,” said Sam Houston State coach Jeff Hooten.
For a time, it seemed like the end would come with anything but a Bearkats win, as they shot just 20 percent (5 for 25) in the first half. Only an 8-for-11 mark from the free throw line kept the Islanders’ 29-21 lead from being larger.
Sam Houston State eventually found its range, as they went on a 19-10 run that featured three long range makes from Peters, yet it was a Paul Baxter basket that gave the Bearkats a 40-39 lead with 15:04 left in the game.
The Islanders stormed back behind a 12-6 spurt of their own that Jordan capped with a triple to give them a 60-52 lead with 7:48 remaining, but A&M-Corpus Christi would manage just three field goals the rest of the way.
“The game just got away from us,” said Jordan, who led all scorers with 20 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists.
Sam Houston State’s ability to control the glass and connect from the charity stripe also paid huge dividends, as they outrebounded A&M-Corpus Christi by a 42-29 margin, including a decisive 20-11 edge on the offensive end. Bearkats center Michael Holyfield accounted for half of the offensive rebounds, as he finished with 12 points and 14 boards despite fouling out in 18 minutes of play. Sam Houston State was able to score 20 points on second chance attempts.
The Bearkats also made the most of their 39 free throw attempts, hitting 29 times. A&M-Corpus Christi hit on just 16 of their 23 attempts.
“It’s hard to defend free throws,” said Islanders coach Willis Wilson, who expects his team will receive a postseason bid.
Dakari Henderson added 11 points for Sam Houston State, while Bryce Douvier scored 13 points and had seven rebounds for A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Bearkats will take on an SFA team that has won the last ten meetings between the schools, including last year’s tournament title game. The Lumberjacks won in Huntsville on January 24 and at home on March 7.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Sam Houston State
Head Coach Jason Hooten
Opening statement…
“I’m lost for words and that’s hard for me to be. We have some unbelievable seniors and I kept telling myself that eventually we’re going to make some shots. We’ve really been struggling the past couple of weeks and hadn’t been making any shots. As much as you can try to get guys feeling good about themselves when things aren’t going well and shots are going in, myself and my staff have really been doing that the last two weeks. More than anything, you got to get in the game and something good has to happen for you. You have to feel good about it and that’s what happened tonight in the second half. We started making a few shots and Jabari [Peters] got us really going and then we started feeling good about ourselves and we got some confidents. I felt like if it came down to the end, then we were going to win it. A tribute to the kids. These guys have so much character and we’ve had great leadership on this team all year long. I don’t know that anybody deserved to lose this game, but I know these guys dissevered to win.”
On halftime adjustments…
“You can’t go [into halftime] and say, ‘hey guys, we’re shooting 20 percent’. That’s what we’ve been doing. We shot the ball really well last year and we haven’t shot it great this year. We shot it good some nights and some nights not. You do go in and say, ‘we’re going to make shots this half’. I do believe we are. Every next shot these guys take I think is going in. They play with that kind of confidence and I try to instill that kind of confidence in them. I got after them a little bit because I didn’t think we guarded. That’s what we’re known for is being good defensively so I got after them defensively. I thought we did a poor job taking care of the ball.”
Senior Guard Jabari Peters
On Sam Houston State’s offense…
“I feel like my teammates found me in great spots. It felt like all my shots were wide open 3’s. Guys were penetrating and kicking out for me. It was a great feeling. My teammates believe in me and I’m thankful for the team that I have.”
Sophomore Guard Dakarai Henderson
On his effort…
“One key was that it was going to be a grind and we needed to keep our composure. I just had to keep my composure even though I wasn’t knocking down shots it he first half. I just had to keep my composure and I knew my team was going to lead me. My teammates had faith in me and I just had confidence in myself and that’s a big thing because whenever I start missing I sued lose my composure and confidence and that would hurt the team. I kept my composure and I stayed confident.”
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Head Coach Willis Wilson
Opening statement…
“This time of year, the way our league is going, every game has been a dog fight for the most part, and we didn’t expect anything less tonight. We knew that it was going to boil down to just some little things. I think it was one of those situations where the runs kind of hit us at the wrong time. ”
On Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s attempt for the tie…
“We had a set to try and get a shot for Brandon Pye on a three on a squeeze play. They did a really good job of defending it. If it wasn’t there it was setup for John [Jordan] to take that drive, and we did just that. We probably got into that set a little later than we should have.”
Senior Guard John Jordan
On Sam Houston State’s defense…
“They were just keeping me off-balance by changing up their defenses and changing up their personnel on me. I think they did a good job defensively. Obviously, I feel like I could’ve made a couple of better pays down the stretch towards the end of the game, but I didn’t.”