The Sam Houston men’s basketball team improved to 5-12 in conference play with a comeback win on Thursday night, defeating the UTEP Miners 89-87. 

After trailing by double digits in the first half, the Bearkats went on an 8-0 run to get back in the game and briefly pulled ahead, though they trailed by two at halftime. Sam Houston had a slow start to the second half, falling behind by nine points, but the team responded with a 19-4 run and led for the final 7:22 of the game.

With the win, the Bearkats improved their overall record to 12-18.

“We got down 12 in the first half and nine in the second half, and I was really proud that after a timeout our guys really regrouped,” Sam Houston head coach Chris Mudge said. “We got back to our intensity and toughness we need to win those games. We stayed together and stayed tough, and that not always easy to do in those kind of games”. 

Lamar Wilkerson scored a team-high 29 points for the Bearkats. Marcus Boykin added 18 points, while Cameron Huefner finished with 17 points.  

Devon Barnes led the way for UTEP with 16 points. 

The Bearkats shot 58.5% from the field, while the Miners shot 48.4%.   

Sam Houston will play New Mexico State on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Johnson Coliseum for its regular-season finale, with ESPN+ carrying the broadcast.  The Bearkats will then fly to Huntsville, Alabama for the Conference USA tournament, which will take place from March 11-15.