SHSU rolls Texas State

Sam Houston crushed Texas State 95-64 Wednesday night at Johnson Coliseum. Senior guards Ashton Mitchell and Corey Allmond combined for 41 points in the victory that expanded their record to 11-5 on the season and 3-0 in conference play.

Sam Houston sits a half game behind Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the conference standings. Texas State dropped to 8-10 for the season and 2-2 in league play. Sam Houston defeated Texas State for the fourth consecutive time and have won three straight games.

Allmond, who scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the first half, opened the game with one of his signature three point shots. The Bearkats trailed 20-14 early in the period before taking over the game a 16-4 run anchored Sam Houston's comeback as they took the lead. After Gilberto Clavell went up for a basket, received contact, and did not get the foul call, Coach Bob Marlin asked the referees to call the fouls when they occurred. He received a technical foul in a game that was called closely throughout. Despite the tension, the Bearkats went into halftime with a 43-31 lead off a buzzer beating fast break layup by Allmond.

"We were rushing our offense and we were rushing our shots," Marlin said. "Everybody was shooting a little bit quick. We need to take our time and trust the offense and get a good clean look off penetration, instead of off the dribble."

Sam Houston took over the game ending the first half with a 29-11 run. Mitchell spoke on how important it is to start games off strong and be aggressive early in the contest.

"Most teams you pretty much figure out when you jump on them early, some usually give up," Mitchell said after the game. "I think with Texas State, they kind of have a young team so it hurt them when we jumped on them early."

The Bearkats piled on with the punishment in second half. Texas State had no answer against the shooting and swarming defense of Sam Houston. The Bearkats outscored Texas State 52-33 in the second half.

Clavell and Preston Brown scored 12 points each. Antuan Bootle pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds. The Bearkats dominated the pace of the game with 18 fast break points while Texas State had four. Clavell electrified the crowd of 1,787 with his two-hand power slam dunks in transition.

"This year, [with Clavell] his presence opens it up for the perimeter play," Allmond said. "Sooner or later, you have to double him and someone's going to be open. He can kill all day. No one would be able to stop that guy."

The game was out of reach when the Bearkats took an 80-50 lead off a three pointer from Lance Pevehouse with 7:53 remaining in the game. Josten Crow scored eight points and Pevehouse added seven points in the win.

"Tonight we were in a game where we turned the ball over early and took quick shots," Marlin said. "That's why we weren't playing well in the beginning. As the game slowed down we took care of the basketball and it was impressive the way we responded."

Sam Houston shot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three point range and 71 percent from the free throw line. Texas State, a team known to commit fouls, sent the Bearkats to the line 38 times in the game. The Bearkat scored 16 points off of 21 turnovers committed by Texas State and led by as many as 36 points.

Texas State shot 20-61 from the field and 4-19 from long range. Ryan White led Texas State with 15 points. Tony Bishop and A'Moute Bidias each scored 12 points in the losing effort. All-Conference player Cameron Johnson, who was coming off of a 34 point performance against Central Arkansas last Saturday, was held scoreless by the Bearkats and only attempted one field goal.

The Bearkats visit University of Texas-Arlington this Saturday looking to win their fourth game in a row.