The Bearkats built on an opening night win with a 91-54 blowout victory over Texas College, increasing their record to 2-0.
The defense was once again a factor, holding Texas College to 35.6 percent shooting from the field. The defense forced 23 turnovers of which they scored 31 points.
The offense played much better than in the first game. Sam Houston shot 58.5 percent from the field and 35 percent behind the arc. Sam Houston also shared the ball very well throughout the game. With 11 Bearkats recording assists, the team totaled 34 for the game.
“We try to play fast,” Head Coach Bob Marlin said. “We like to run the floor and take advantage of our depth. We’re very unselfish and we always share the ball.”
Once again, the Bearkats dominated the inside game, outscoring Texas College 58-14 in the paint.
Gilberto Clavell scored a game-high 19 points in just 18 minutes, for his second straight game scoring in double figures. Arthur Zulu was also an inside force with six points and five rebounds.
“We practice everyday going inside and then out,” said Clavell. “If they bring the double team, we’re going to kick it out. It’s good because we’ve got great shooters and great post players. It’s going to be difficult for opponents to match up when we play like this.”
The Bearkats outscored Texas College 46-23 on bench points. Aaron Thompson scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds. Antuan Bootle provided 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.
Drae Murray was huge off the bench once again, dropping nine points, five assists, and three steals in just 18 minutes off the bench.
The play of Corey Allmond and Ashton Mitchell allowed for a lot of bench players to get extra playing time. The two combined for 25 points and 10 assists in the game and were key contributors to Sam Houston’s 20 fast break points.
“Coming into the game we knew that we could hurt them in transition,” Mitchell said. “I think we got a lot of easy buckets tonight. Our goal was to limit them to one shot and get out in transition.”
Sam Houston State will be back in action Thursday when they travel to the Rupp Arena to take on the Kentucky Wildcats.
The Bearkats look to improve to 3-0 on the season by winning their first of four consecutive road games.
