Bearkats Earn Second Trip to Big Dance with 64-48 Win
vs. Stephen F. AustinSam Houston State got defensive on Saturday afternoon, and it earned them a trip to the Big Dance. An opening 3-point barrage -- combined with a relentless defensive effort -- gave the top-seeded Bearkats a 64-45 win over Stephen F. Austin at Merrell Center, punching the school's first ticket to the NCAA tournament since 2003. Tournament Most Valuable Player Ashton Mitchell (5'11''-G-88) scored eight of his 13 points in a first half that saw Sam Houston (25-7) race to a 35-19 halftime lead on the strength of a 17-5 run that the second-seeded Lumberjacks (23-9) were never able to recover from. 'This moment is what I've been waiting on for the last four years,' said Mitchell, who added six assists and three rebounds. Mitchell's effort on defense may have played a bigger role, as he and mates Corey Allmond (6'1''-G-88) and Josten Crow (6'4''-F-87) combined to hold SFA's guard trio of Denzel Barnes (5'7''-G), Walt Harris (6'5''-G-88) and Eddie Williams (6'2''-G-89) to just 21 points on 7-of-30 shooting. 'We knew they couldn't beat us with their 3-point shooting,' said Sam Houston State coach Bob Marlin . 'We were able to get to them, and those guys played a big part in that.' The Lumberjacks, who shot better than 50 percent in wins over UT Arlington and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, shot a mere 34 percent on the afternoon, including a 29 percent mark in the first half when they connected only 8 of their 28 attempts from the field. 'When you shoot like that and play a good team like Sam Houston, you're going to have a hard time winning,' said SFA coach Danny Kaspar . 'You have to give credit to Sam Houston's defense, especially in the first half.' Foul trouble also hampered the Lumberjacks, as post players Jordan Glynn (6'7''-F-89) and Jereal Scott (6'7''-F-89) both got into early foul trouble. Glynn (eight points, seven rebounds) fouled out midway in the second half while Scott (13 points, seven boards) was unable to play as aggressively once he picked up his third foul near the end of the first half. By then, the Bearkats had already delivered the decisive run that secured the conference title. Leading 11-7 at the 14:19 mark of the first half, Sam Houston State began blistering the Lumberjacks from long range. Treys from Allmond, Mitchell and Preston Brown (6'6''-F-88) helped turn what was a tight game into a 28-12 margin that swelled to a 19-point lead when Allmond converted a conventional three-point play with 4:46 left. 'It looked like they couldn't miss,' said Williams. 'The rim looked like an ocean to them.' The Bearkats took a 35-19 lead into intermission and took another 19-point advantage early in the second half before SFA put together a brief spurt that cut the margin to 46-34 with 10:52 left. It would be as close as the Lumberjacks would get, as the Bearkats came up with huge defensive stops to keep their lead in double digits. For Sam Houston State forward Gilberto Clavell (6'6''-F-89), the day took on a special meaning. As the fans rushed the court to celebrate the victory, the junior was surprised by the appearance of his family, which came in from Puerto Rico to attend the game. 'It's been a perfect day,' said Clavell, who earned all-tournament honors after scoring a game-high 21 points and added five rebounds. 'There are no feelings to describe this... it's unbelievable.' Mitchell and Clavell were joined on the all-tournament team by SFA's duo of Scott and Williams along with Nicholls junior forward Anatoly Bose (6'6''-G/F-88), who scored a tournament-high 40 points in the opening-round loss to Sam Houston State. The Bearkats will learn where they'll play their opening round game when the NCAA tournament brackets are announced on Sunday evening. 'If we defend like we did today, we've got a chance to win,' said Marlin. Courtesy of Southland Conf. Southland Conf. Tournament Final: Sam Houston St. - Stephen F. Austin 64-45 Southland Conf. Tournament Semifinals: Stephen F. Austin - Texas A&M Corpus Christi 60-53 Sam Houston St. - SE Louisiana 88-85 Southland Conf. All-Tournament MVP: Ashton Mitchell of Sam Houston State Southland Conf. All-Tournament Team Anatoly Bose of Nicholls State Eddie Williams of Stephen F. Austin Jereal Scott of Stephen F. Austin Gilberto Clavell of Sam Houston State Ashton Mitchell of Sam Houston State
All-Southland Conf. 1st Team Marquez Haynes (6'3''-G-86) of UT Arlington Kevin Palmer (6'6''-G/F-87) of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Anatoly Bose of Nicholls Ashton Mitchell of Sam Houston State Corey Allmond of Sam Houston State All-Southland Conf. 2nd Team Patrick Sullivan (6'9''-C-88) of Southeastern Louisiana Gilberto Clavell of Sam Houston State Eddie Williams of Stephen F. Austin Justin Nabors (6'7''-F-87) of Lamar Devin Gibson (6'0''-G) of UTSA All-Southland Conf. 3rd Team Cameron Johnson (6'7''-F) of Texas State Demond Watt (6'7''-F-89) of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Will Pratt (6'5''-F) of Northwestern State Patrick Richard (6'4''-F) of McNeese State Walt Harris of Stephen F. Austin All-Southland Conf. Honorable Mention Mitch Rueter (6'6''-F) of Central Arkansas Fred Hunter (6'5''-G-89) of Nicholls William Mosley (6'7''-C-89) of Northwestern State Jereal Scott of Stephen F. Austin Omar Johnson (5'7''-G) of UTSA Morris Smith (6'4''-G) of UTSA All-Southland Conf. Player of the Year: Marquez Haynes of UT Arlington All-Southland Conf. Freshman of the Year: Melvin Johnson (6'5''-G) of UTSA All-Southland Conf. Newcomer of the Year: Gilberto Clavell of Sam Houston State All-Southland Conf. Coach of the Year: Bob Marlin of Sam Houston State | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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