Bearkat MBB Rebounds With Big Win Over UCA
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
James Thomas scored 26 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead Sam Houston State to an 80-75 Southland Conference men’s basketball victory over Central Arkansas Saturday evening.
The Bearkats held a 13- point lead early in the second half, but saw it evaporate after a 19-5 UCA Bears run to put Central Arkansas up 50-49 with 9:52 to play.
Sam Houston bounced back, taking a 58-57 lead on a jumper by Thomas with 4:50 to play and not allowing a UCA field goal for the next three-and-a-half minutes.
“James Thomas is a hard worker with a big heart and a motor that never stops,” head coach Jason Hooten said. “He made some big plays for us tonight.”
Will Bond added 15 points including three treys while Michael Holyfield pulled down nine rebounds.
“Will is developing into a shot maker and Michael is beginning to come into his own as a post player,” Hooten said. “Those last two minutes when UCA made one last run at us were the longest two minutes I’ve seen in a long time. But this was a good win for us.”
Robert Crawford scored 21 points and LaQuentin Miles added 19.
UCA went 0-for-18 from three point range before hitting three in the final minute and a half to cut Sam Houston’s 11-point lead to game-ending five.
Sam Houston now stands 13-11 for the year and 6-6 in Southland play.
The Bears are 9-14 for the season and 4-9 in league action.
The first 15 minutes of the game featured six ties and four lead changes.
UCA led by one, 23-22 with 5:12 to go in the period when the Kats started a 13-4 run to go into the locker room at intermission with a 35-27 lead.
Sam Houston led by 13, 44-31 on a three-pointer by Marquel McKinney two minutes and 22 seconds into the second half.
But the Kats went cold, hitting only two of their next 12 shots as the UCA Bears took the lead 51-50 after a 19-5 run.
Never behind by more than a field goal in the second period, Sam Houston rallied to take a 58-57 lead on a Thomas lay-up with 4:50 to play.
The Kat defense held the Bears without a field goal for the next three-and-a-half minutes during a 17-3 run to put SHSU up 72-60 on a pair of free throws by Thomas with 1:51 to play.
Sam Houston made six of eight free throws in the final minute and a half to hold off a final charge by the Bears.
The Bearkats play host to Southland Conference leader Stephen F. Austin Wednesday night at 7:45 p.m. at
Bearkat Volleyball Rolled Through UCA In Four Sets
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Conway, Ark – Kaylee Hawkins totaled 18 kills as Sam Houston State came from a set down to defeat Central Arkansas 27-29, 25-18, 25-14, 25-19 in a battle for first place in the Southland Conference volleyball race.
The victory extended Sam Houston’s winning streak to 11 matches, the Bearkats’ longest since the program moved up to the NCAA Division I level.
With an 11-2 record, the Kats take a half game lead over Central Arkansas in the 2012 title race.
The Bears dropped to 11-3 in league play.
Sam Houston owns a 16-9 season record while UCA is 23-4 for the year.
Two other Bearkats totaled double figure kills as Kendall Cleveland posted 14 and Deveney Wells-Gibson had 10.
UCA overcame a 14-0 Bearkat lead to take the first set.
But, even after a demanding five-set victory over Oral Roberts Thursday night, the Bearkats charged back to win the next three sets.
“Friday morning, I don’t think we had anything left in the tank after the five-setter at ORU,” head coach Brenda Gray said. “But the girls are hitting on all cylinders now. This was a great team effort and a big win.”
Tayler Gray assisted of 45 of SHSU’s 55 kills.
Haley Neisler totaled seven blocks and Hawkins and Kim Black each had five apiece.
Bearkats Clawed Their Way Over Bears 2-1
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Informatio
Katie Ferrara and Kirby Zak each scored, then Sam Houston held off a determined charge by the top scoring offense in the Southland Conference as they defeated Central Arkansas 2-1 Sunday afternoon at Pritchett Field.
UCA had scored 38 goals in their first 10 games this season, but the Bears were held scoreless for 84 minutes by SHSU goalkeeper Kylie Hambleton and her Bearkat backline.
Ferrara scored at the 12:53 mark, the earliest goal by Sam Houston this season, for a quick 1-0 lead.
She intercepted an attempt by UCA goalkeeper Kelsey Gouchnauer to roll a ball out to one of her defenders and promptly put a shot from 19 yards out in the back of the net.
Zak fired in what turned out to be the match winning goal on a cornerkick from the left side to the far post.
Shelby McDaniel’s corner found Lindsey Posner who made a short pass to Zak.
The senior forward fired in her second goal of the weekend at the 58:33 mark.
UCA’s goal also came on a cornerkick as Elizabeth Bradley’s ball found Kristin Pollard at the far post and scored with six minutes to play.
Central Arkansas took 14 shots with Hambleton saving four.
Sam Houston now stands 2-0 in Southland Conference play and is 5-7 for the year. Central Arkansas drops to 8-2-1 for the season and 0-1-1 in league action.
“It’s huge to start conference play 2-0,” SHSU head coach Tom Brown said. “Our goal is to win all our home games and then try and pick up as many as we can on the road. Our tough non-conference schedule has really helped us. We played No. 16 Rutgers and tough opponents on the road like Air Force and UTEP. It really has made us play better and harder and it paid off this weekend.”
Sam Houston faces a long road swing next weekend, playing at Southeastern Louisiana, then heading to Oral Roberts.
UCA Upsets No.3 SHSU 24-20
This article is courtesy of Paul Ridings, Associate Athletic Director for Sam Houston State Bearkat athletics.
Conway, Ark. – Quarterback Wyrick Smothers directed Central Arkansas on touchdown drives of 72 and 75 yards in the final five minutes as the Bears upset No. 3 ranked Sam Houston State Saturday afternoon at Estes Stadium.
SHSU had taken a 20-10 lead with 5:24 to play with drives for a touchdown and field goals after UCA tied the contest 10-10 late in the third quarter.
Smothers found Dominique Croom in the left corner of the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown for the winning score with 57 seconds remaining.
In the final minute, the Bearkats drove to the UCA 24 before the Bears intercepted a pass in the end zone on the contest’s final play.
Sam Houston dropped to 1-2 for the season while Central Arkansas upped its record to 3-1. The contest was the Southland Conference opener for both squads.
Following a loss to Baylor last week, the result marks the first time SHSU has lost two consecutive games since 2010. The Kats went 14-1 in 2011, reaching the NCAA Division I national championship game.
Smothers completed 24 of 41 passes for 318 yards and two touchdowns. UCA rolled up 413 yards total offense while Sam Houston totaled 470.
The end of the contest erased another strong performance by Timothy Flanders and Richard Sincere. Flanders rushed 22 times for 125 yards including TD runs of 39 and 11 yards. Sincere rushed for 53 yards including two big runs to set up scores for the Bearkets.
The 100-yard performance by Flanders is the 17th 100-yard game of his career. The two scores move him up to No. 5 in Southland Conference career rushing touchdowns with 39.
Sam Houston scored on its opening drive of the game after a UCA punt. Miguel Antonio put the Kats up 3-0 with 8:21 to play in the first quarter after an 11-play 48-yard drive.
After an exchange of punts, SHSU took two plays to score its first touchdown. Brandon Willkerson rushed 33 yards to the UCA 39 on a reserve. Then Flanders took a pitch from Richard Sincere down the left sideline for a 39-yard score. SHSU led 10-0 with 1:41 to play in the opening quarter.
Sam Houston had another scoring opportunity early in the second quarter after an interception by J. T. Cleveland. But Antonio missed a 24-yard field goal attempt.
Wynrick Smothers put UCA on the board with a 30-yard scoring pass to Terence Bobo, cutting the lead to 10-7 with 10:05 to play in the half.
UCA had three chances to score its second TD late in the third quarter, but the Bearkat defense held and forced the Bears to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Eddie Camara with 2:03 remaining in the third to tie the game 10-10.
Sam Houston answered with an 11-play 80-yard drive to go back in front 17-10. Bell hit Chance Nelson for a 20-yard gain to the UCA 29 and Richard Sincere dashed 19 yards around left end to set up the score. Flanders picked up his second TD of the day with an 11-yard run.
The defense forced a punt and the Kat offense took 5:24 off the clock and added three more points with a 12-play 66-yard drive that ended with Antonio’s 26-yard field goal.
UCA bounced back with an eight-play 75-yard drive that ended with a 17-yard run up the middle by Smothers to cut the margin back to a field goal, 20-17, with 3:18 to go.