The Sam Houston men’s basketball team defeated the UTEP Miners 70-66 on Wednesday to extend their winning streak to seven games, a stretch that dates back to Jan. 14.

This was one of the Bearkats’ most challenging conference games this season, but they managed to pull through in the end. SHSU led by double digits in the second half, before the Miners rallied to take a 64-63 lead with 1:27 remaining. The Bearkats proceeded to close the game on a 7-2 run.

“I was proud we didn’t break”, SHSU head coach Chris Mudge said regarding this team’s toughness.

One of the contributing factors to the win was the teams’ free throw attempts. On Saturday they only shot 67% from the line, but on Wednesday they shot 78%, including six straight makes from Kashie Natt to secure the win.

The Bearkats only had nine active players at the start of the game. When asked about how his team was able to pull through, Mudge remarked, “That’s gonna happen.” He added that “this team has just continued to [have a] next-man-up mentality”.

Po’Boigh King and Damon Nicholas Jr. led the Kats with 17 and 14 points, respectively. Cale Blackwell and Jamal West Jr. added 22 and 21 points for the Miners.

With Wednesday’s victory, Mudge reached 50 career wins as a head coach.

The Bearkats play Louisiana Tech in Ruston on Saturday at 2 p.m. ESPN+ will carry the broadcast.