Bearkat MBB Extends Win Streak To Three Games
by Cheval John
The Sam Houston State Bearkat basketball team extended their win streak to three games with an 89-53 beat down over Huston-Tillotson Rams.
SHSU (6-5) shot 50.7% from the field and went 40% from the three point line.
Most of the three point shooting came from junior transfer guard Jeremy McKay.
McKay made four of seven treys and finished with 16 points, four rebounds and an assist.
Both teams played tight early in the first half as they were five lead changes.
Though the Rams (2-11) led 10-7, the Bearkats went on a 10-0 run to retake the lead at 17-10 behind junior guard Aaron Harwell’s three maded shots and junior transfer forward James Thomas’ back-to-back buckets.
The Rams pulled twice with a score to tie the match, but the Bearkats hang on to the lead at 38-30 by halftime.
“I wasn’t happy with our first half,” head coach Jason Hooten said.
“I thought we didn’t came out with energy.”
That energy came in the second half as the Bearkats opened on a 13-2 run that included McKay three straight treys to widened the gap at 50-33.
They didn’t looked back as they cruised to an 89-53 win.
Marquel McKinney totaled 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and four steals.
Terrance Motley and Darius Gatson each had 11 points.
The Bearkats will take a long week off before they face their final non-conference opponent Howard Payne on December 29.
Bearkat WBB Falls To TCU
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Led by Britni Martin with 18 points and Chanice Smith with 15, the Sam Houston women’s basketball team threw a scare into the Horned Frogs as TCU edged the Bearkats 67-60 Sunday afternoon at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
TCU (5-3) never trailed, but Sam Houston (2-6) kept the contest close the entire 40 minutes.
Sequeena Thomas added 10 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as the Kats out-boarded the Frogs 50-42.
Thomas fouled out with 1:05 to play.
After seeing TCU build a 35-27 halftime lead and go up by 11 points four minutes into the second period, Sam Houston fought back.
Martin cut the Horned Frog lead to four points, 48-44, with a three-pointer at the 14:15 mark.
The senior forward pulled Sam Houston to within five, 65-60 with a jumper with less than a minute to play.
TCU went 6-of-6 from the line in the final minute to hold on to the victory.
After a steal and missed shot by Smith with 10 seconds to play, Jazmin Wiley rebounded but loss possession on a turnover and the Frogs ran out the clock.
Sam Houston hit 22-of-70 shots to shoot 31.4 percent.
The Bearkats were 5-for-20 from three point range.
TCU hit 33 percent (20-of-60) and nailed 10 of their 24 three point attempts.
Sam Houston State now travels to California to play in the Long Beach Classic Thursday and Friday, Dec. 20 and 21.
Bearkats Grounded The Eagles To Make A Return To FCS Title Game
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Cheney, Wash. – For the second year in a row, Sam Houston State and North Dakota State will meet in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game in Frisco, Texas, thanks to a 45-42 Bearkat victory over No. 2 seed Eastern Washington at Roos Field Saturday.
Sam Houston led 35-0 at halftime, but quarterback Vernon Adams engineered an Eagle comeback as the Bearkats had to run out the clock on their final possession to earn a win by the margin of Miquel Antonio’s 42-yard field goal.
Eastern Washington drove to the Sam Houston 15-yard line but was forced to settle for a field goal attempt.
Jimmy Pavel missed from 32 yards just 39 seconds into the second period.
Three plays later, on a third-and-two, Bell rolled left, kept on the quarterback option and dashed downed the left sideline for a 72-yard touchdown with 12:56 to play in the half.
The run was Bell’s longest as a Bearkat and the longest TD run for Sam Houston this season. His previously long was a 54-yard score in the 2011 NCAA quarterfinals against Montana State.
Six minutes later Keshawn Hill took a pitch from Sincere around left end and dashed 15 yards into the end zone to put the Kats up 28-0 with 6:44 before intermission.
The drive covered 48 yards in eight plays.
Shaw broke up a pass attempt on fourth down to give the ball to the Kats at the EWU 45.
The Kats needed only three plays to score again, this time on a six-yard run by Sincere with 3:48 remaining in the second quarter.
Flanders’ 39-yard run to the six on the second play of the drive set up the score.
Sam Houston went into the locker room with a 35-0 lead.
A different East Washington team came out in the third quarter.
First, Vernon Adams hit Greg Herd for a 31-yard touchdown to complete a seven play 79-yard drive.
Then Adams found Brandon Kaufman for a 22-yard score ending a six-play, 55-yard scoring march.
A successful onsides kick set up a third TD pass by Adams, this time for 43 yards to Aston Clark to make the score 35-21 with 1:05 in the period.
Kaufman was the target for a 43-yard score with 13:08 to go in the fourth and, in just 15 minutes, EWU had cut the lead to 35-28 with 9:48 to play.
Finally, the Bearkat offense got its mojo back, taking two minutes and 19 seconds to go 86 yards in five plays for a four-yard scoring pass from Bell to Shane Young to put them with a two touchdown lead at 42-28.
A 49-yard run by Flanders to the EWU three-yard line was the key play in the drive.
Adams picked up where he had left off, finding Kaufman for a 60-yard gain to the SHSU seven, then two plays later hitting Nicholas Edwards for a four-yard touchdown.
The Eagles were back within a touchdown 42-35 with 9:48 to play.
Miguel Antonio increased the Bearkats’ margin to 45-35 with a 42-yard field goal with 5:33 remaining.
Sam Houston drove 36 yards in eight plays.
Adams again struck, hitting Kaufman for a 33-yard touchdown as the margin now was 45-42 with 3:04 to play.
But the Bearkats stood their ground and made the plays when it was needed with Flanders’ key first down conversion run on 3 and 3 to ice the game.
They will now look to finish what they started as they face the No. 1 ranked and defending national champion NDSU Bison on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 12 noon at FC Dallas Stadium.
Three Bearkats Clawed Their Way To AP All-America Squad
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Safety Darnell Taylor, running back Timothy Flanders and defensive end Andrew Weaver have been named to the 2012 Associated Press NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision All-America squad.
Taylor is a first team selection while Flanders and Weaver both were named to the AP third team.
Taylor, a safety from Mesquite, has totaled 94 tackles, including 64 solos, two sacks, two interceptions, five pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles in Sam Houston State’s 13 games.
The Bearkats have reached the national semifinals for the second consecutive season, winning the Southland Conference with a 6-1 league mark and earning a number 5 national ranking with a 10-3 overall record.
Flanders, junior running back from Midwest City, Okla., is the Southland Conference “Player of the Year” for the second consecutive season.
He has been the Southland’s leading rusher the past two years. The junior stands as Sam Houston’s all-time rushing leader with 705 carries for 3,950 yards and 52 touchdowns. He has produced 24 100-yard rushing performances in his career, a total that includes a school record nine 100-yard games this year.
Weaver, junior from Waco High School, has been a key figure in the Bearkat squad that ranked No. 7 nationally in rush defense and No. 9 in total defense. Sam Houston led the Southland Conference in 2012 in rushing, scoring and total defense.
He has totaled 24 tackles including six for losses and four quarterback sacks.
AP FCS ALL-AMERICA TEAM
FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Taylor Heinicke, sophomore, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, Old Dominion.
Running backs — Miguel Maysonet, senior, 5-10, 205, Stony Brook; Eric Breitenstein, senior, 5-11, 230, Wofford.
Offensive linemen — Earl Watford, senior, 6-4, 290, James Madison; Mike Sellers, junior, 6-0, 295, The Citadel; Will Post, senior, 6-6, 295, Eastern Washington; Bill Turner, junior, 6-6, 300, North Dakota State; Roger Gaines, senior, 6-6, 320, Tennessee State.
Tight end — Kyle Juszczyk, senior, 6-3, 240, Harvard.
Receivers — Aaron Mellett, senior, 6-4, 220, Elon; Erik Lora, 5-10, 181, junior, Eastern Illinois.
All-purpose player — Walter Powell, junior, 6-0, 180, Murray State.
Kicker — Patrick Murray, senior, 5-7, 160, Fordham.
DEFENSE
Linemen — Caleb Schreibeis, senior, 6-3, 252, Montana State; Colton Underwood, junior, 6-4, 255, Illinois State; Brent Russell, senior, 6-2, 300, Georgia Southern; Brandon Thurmond, senior, 6-2, 260, Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Linebackers — Matt Evans, senior, 6-0, 228, New Hampshire; Jody Owens, senior, 6-0, 223, Montana State; Robert McCabe, senior, 6-2, 230, Georgetown.
Defensive backs — Darnell Taylor, senior, 6-0, 195, Sam Houston State; Marcus Williams, junior, 5-11, 194, North Dakota State; Jaquiski Tartt, sophomore, 6-1, 220, Samford; Cooper Taylor, senior, 6-5, 235, Richmond.
Punter — Sam Martin, senior, 6-1, 205, Appalachian State.
SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Casey Brockman, senior, Murray State.
Running backs — Zach Zenner, sophomore, South Dakota State; Deonte Williams, senior, Cal Poly.
Linemen — Terren Jones, senior, Alabama State; Michael Bamiro, junior, Stony Brook; Bryan Witzmann, junior, South Dakota State; J.C. Tretter, senior, Cornell; Corey Howard, senior, Central Arkansas.
Tight end — A.C. Leonard, sophomore, Tennessee State.
Receivers — Jordan Harris, junior, Bryant; Brandon Kaufman, junior, Eastern Washington.
All-purpose player — Dominic Dunn, senior, Northern Colorado.
Kicker — Colton Cook, junior, Southern Utah.
DEFENSE
Linemen — Cody Larsen, senior, Southern Utah; Davis Tull, sophomore, Chattanooga; Mike Catapano, senior, Princeton; Zach Wagenmann, sophomore, Montana.
Linebackers — Jeremy Kimbrough, senior, Appalachian State; Stephon Robertson, junior, James Madison; Blake Peiffer, senior, Southeast Misssouri.
Defensive backs — Robert Alford, senior, Southeastern Louisiana; B.W. Webb, senior, William & Mary; Demetrius McCray, senior, Appalachian State; Johnny Towalid, senior, Indiana State.
Punter — Andy Wilder, junior, Northern Arizona.
THIRD TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Gavin McCarney, junior, Colgate.
Running backs — Shakir Bell, junior, Indiana State; Tim Flanders, junior, Sam Houston State.
Linemen — Randy Richards, senior, Missouri State; Garrett Frye, sophomore, Georgia Southern; Aaron Adams, senior, Eastern Kentucky; Sean Davies, senior, UC Davis; Dakota Dozier, junior, Furman.
Tight end — Josh Hill, senior, Idaho State.
Receivers — Cordell Roberson, senior, Stephen F. Austin; Kevin Norrell, senior, Stony Brook.
All-purpose player — Tyler Varga, sophomore, Yale.
Kicker — Jimmy Pavel, senior, Eastern Washington.
DEFENSE
Linemen — Caraun Reid, senior, Princeton; Ken Boatright, senior, Southern Illinois; Joseph Lebeau, senior, Jackson State; Andrew Weaver, junior, Sam Houston State.
Linebackers — Jordan Tripp, junior, Montana; Keith Pough, senior, Howard; Ian Sluss, senior, Portland State.
Defensive backs — Kejuan Riley, senior, Alabama State; Steven Godbolt, sophomore, Tennessee State; Ben Ericksen, senior, Illinois State; Caleb Schaffitzel, sophomore, Missouri State.
Punter — Bobby Wenzig, junior, Alabama State.
Members of Westboro Needs To Grow Up
by Cheval John
It seems to me that the members of Westboro Baptist Chuch don’t know when enough is enough.
The church is known for picketing funerals of soldiers who were killed while fighting to protect our country.
That alone is distasteful.
But what they are about to do crossing the line.
According to a report by Elizabeth Tenety of the Washington Post, these same members are going to picket the funerals of the people who was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting last Friday.
These people “believe” that this was God’s judgement on the state of Connecticut for legalizing gay marriage.
This alone sickenings me because they don’t seem to realized that most of the victims were children who were under ten years old.
They don’t understand the grief that the parents are going through at this moment.
All they care about is passing judgement on people in the name of God “believing” that they are doing his will.
What they need to understand is that it could have been their children in that mess.
They need to understand that those who survived this will be traumatized and will need all the support and prayers of a nation who cares about their well being.
What they don’t need is a group of idiots who want to go to funerals and protest all of their nonsense so that they can get their twisted message out there.
If they do go out to Connecticut, I really hope that along the way they realize that these were innocent people who were doing the normal routine of going to school and learning their ABCs and learning how to treat their peers with respect.
If that happens, that will be the greatest miracle that will ever happen in this nation.
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