Cardinals 72-Bearkats 49
By Cheval John
Behind guard Mike James 22 points in the second half, the Lamar Cardinals defeated Sam Houston State Bearkats men’s basketball team by the score of 72-49.
The win gave the Cardinals increase their Southland Conference record to 9-5 (18-11 overall).
“We wanted to win pretty bad,” James said. “We kept grinding it out and we came out with the win.
The Bearkats started the game on a 7-2 run to make it 7-2.
The Cardinals answered with a 6-3 run to cut the lead to 10-8.
The Bearkats scored six straight points on three possessions to extend the lead to 16-8.
Cardinals went on a 10 -0 run to take their first lead by the score of 18-16.
From that moment, it was a back and forth battle between the two teams as they exchanged a total of 22 points to end the half with the game tied at 28.
Guard Darius Gatson led the Kats with 9 points in the first half, shooting 3-5 from the field. The Kats shot 100% from the free throw line.
James and guard Devon Lamb led the Cardinals with 8 points each in the first half.
The second half began with a 10-4 run by the Cardinals to make it 38-32.
They exploded with a 25-7 run to extend the lead to 60-45 and went on to win by the score of 72-49.
“You got to give credit to Lamar,” head basketball coach Jason Hooten said. “They fought really hard and responded real well with their SFA game and outplayed us.”
James finished the game with 30 points and had 3 rebounds with two assists while Lamb ended the game with 15 points, 5 assists and three rebounds.
“I put these guys at a terrible spot on purpose,” Cardinals head basketball coach Pat Knight said. “I wouldn’t had done it if I didn’t have tough players.”
Gatson finished the game with 13 points and had 4 assists with 3 rebounds. Forward Steven Werner contributed with 9 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist.
The Bearkats next game will be against their arch-rival Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday, February 29 at Johnson Coliseum. It will be the final home game of the season.
For more information, visit gobearkats.com
Bearkats 10- Toreros 3
Sam Houston State Bearkats defeated University of San Diego Toreros by the score of 10-3 to take 2 out of 3 in the weekend series. They are now 2-1 for the season.
“Doing the little things everyday gives us an opportunity to win,” head baseball coach David Pierce said. “San Diego is a great team and for us to play well against them is a great confidence builder.”
The Bearkats struck first in the bottom of the third inning when leftfielder Hayden Simerly (0-1) scored on a throwing error by Austin Bailey (0-2) that made it 1-0.
Simerly led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by shortstop Corey Toups (0-1).
An RBI sacrifice fly by secondbaseman Jessie Plumlee (0-4) increased the Bearkat lead to 2-0. Thirdbaseman Kevin Miller (3-5) led off the fourth inning with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by designated hitter Shea Pierce (1-1) that allowed him to score on the sacrifice fly.
The Toreros scored their first run in the top of the seventh inning on a RBI single by shortstop Andrew Daniel (2-4) that made it 2-1. Firstbaseman Bryan Haar (2-4) singled with one out in the top of the seventh inning. He advanced to second on a wild pitch by reliever Andrew Godail and score on the single by Daniel.
The Bearkats exploded for five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on rightfielder Greg Olson’s
(1-1) two run double and a two-run bloop single by Miller and an RBI single by pinch hitter Anthony Azar (1-1) to increased the lead to 7-1.
The Toreros scored two runs in the top of the eight inning to cut the lead to 7-3 on back to-back RBI singles by thirdbaseman Connor Joe (1-4) and Bryan Haar.
Pinch hitter Victor Rasor-Thompson (1-2) led off the top of the eight inning with a single and advance to second on a single by Kris Bryant (2-3). Designated Hitter Corey LeVier (0-3) was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
The Bearkats added three more runs in the bottom of the eight inning to make it 10-3.
Starting pitcher Justin Jackson went five innings and got the win while starting pitcher Dylan Covey suffered the loss.
“Justin was really sharp and did a great job today,” coach Pierce said.
The Bearkats host Prarie View A&M on Tuesday at Don Sanders Stadium. Game time is at 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit gobearkats.com
Bearkats 3-Toreros 2
Luke Pluckeck’s (1-1) game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Sam Houston State (SHSU) Bearkats a 3-2 win over the University of San Diego Toreros.
Plucheck pinched-run for leftfielder Hayden Simerly (0-1) in the bottom of the eight inning.
“I was lucky enough to bring it to a 3-2 count, so I was looking for a fastball,” Plucheck said. “I kept my hands in and drive it through.”
The win was the first under new head baseball coach David Pierce, who took over after Mark Johnson retired last year.
“I am proud of the guys because they fought back and never gave in,” coach Pierce said. “We earned that win.”
The Toreros struck first in the top of the third on a single by Corey LeVier (3-4) that scored Bryan Haar (1-4) to make it 1-0. Haar singled with two outs in the inning and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. He stole third base that allowed him to score.
The Bearkats couldn’t get anything going as starting pitcher Paul Sewald had a no-hitter going for six innings.
Julian Duran’s (3-4) two-out RBI double in the top of the sixth inning to increase the lead to 2-0.
The Bearkats tied the game at two in the bottom of the eight inning on catcher John Hale’s (2-4) two-out two run single to right field. Hale broke up the no-hitter in the seventh inning with an infield single.
“I was trying to get a pitch to hit because I knew that a single would score two,” Hale said.
Thirdbaseman Kevin Miller’s (2-4) double with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning and scored the game-winning run on Plucheck’s single.
Reliever Michael Oros went three innings and got the win while Toreros reliever James Pazos got the loss.
Starting pitcher Cody Dickson went three and one-third innings, giving up a run and five hits. He struck out two while Sewald got the no-decison.
The final game of the series will be tomorrow at Don Sanders Stadium on the campus of SHSU. Game time is at 1 p.m. For more information on the team, visit gobearkats.
Here are the two hits that gave the Bearkats their first win of the season called by Jason Barfield, play-by-play announcer for Bearkat Sports Network:
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Rockets 59-Bearkats 58
The University of Toledo Rockets defeated the Sam Houston State Bearkat men’s basketball team 59-58 on Saturday. The game was a part of the Sears BracketBuster.
Guard Konner Tucker and forward Steven Werner led the Kats with 14 points each.
“I thought we played good tonight, but it was not enough to win,” Tucker said.
The first nine minutes of the first half was a battle between the two teams as they were a total of 30 points exchanged between them with the game tied at 15.
The Rockets went on a 10-7 run to lead it by the score of 27-22. They closed the half on a 7-4 run to lead it 34-27.
The Bearkats opened the second half with a 5-2 run to cut the lead to 36-32.
They maintained they moment with a 9-4 run to take the lead by the score of 41-40.
The Rockets answered with 5-0 run on back-to-back three pointers to regain the lead by the score of 46-41.
The Bearkats went on a 6-0 run to regain the lead by the score of 47-46.
The Rockets did not went away as they went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 51 with 4:05 remaining in the game.
It remained tight between them as they exchanged a total of five points with the Rockets leading 55-53 with 1:27 left in the game.
The Rockets held off a Bearkat rally in the final minutes of the game to take this year’s Bracket Buster game.
“I thought our guys played hard today,” Bearkat head basketball coach Jason Hooten said. “They wanted to win the game.”
Forward Reese Holliday led the Rockets with 14 points, 4 rebounds and one assist. Guard Julius Brown and guard Rian Pearson contributed with 12 points each.
The Bearkats are now 11-16 for the season. The loss does not affect their Southland Conference record because the Sears BracketBuster was a non-conference game.
“If I had to choice of which one I want to win, I’ll choose a conference all the way,” coach Hooten said.
The Bearkats next game will be at Northwestern State on Wednesday, February 22. Game time is at 7 p.m. For more information, visit gobearkats.com
Sticks And Stones
By Cheval John
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
Everyone has heard this quote at one point or another. The truth of the matter is that words are powerful. It can be use to either build someone up or tear someone down.
In this case, I believe that the words of first year head mens basketball coach Pat Knight of Lamar University has destroyed the moral of the Lamar Cardinals men’s basketball team.
Knight, the son of former basketball coach and current ESPN analyst Bob Knight, bereaded his seniors after a 62-52 loss to Stephen F. Austin State Lumberjacks on Wednesday night.
He basically interrupted a question that was being answered by senior Mike James and basically said that you guys don’t know how to win.
I would understand if the team is having a bad season, but in this case, they are not because their overall record is 17-16 and are currently in second place in the East Division of the Southland Conference, with three games left in the season.
If the season was to be over with, then they would make the Southland Conference Basketball Tournament that will be held in early March at the Merrill Center in Katy, Texas.
This situation shows that he is not a true leader because of what he did. He just aired out a lot of problems to the media that should have been kept private.
For example, Sam Houston State Bearkat men’s basketball team had a rough start to the season. They played one of the toughest schedules in the country as they were 6-8 before Southland conference play.
They experienced many heartbreaking losses, but they have won the last five out of six games and are currently in seventh place in the conference. They have a good chance of making the tournament because the tournament takes the top eight teams in the conference.
They defeated Northwestern State Demons by the score of 50-37 at Northwestern State’s gym. The 37 points that their defense held Northwestern to was an NCAA record.
Sure head men’s basketball coach Jason Hooten could have done what Knight did, but he did not. In fact, he has kept the team together and that is what a true leader does.
It will be difficult for Knight to recruit quality talent in the future because a top prospect would not want to play for a coach that will embarrass him in public.
The irony of all this is that both teams will face each other on Saturday, February 25 at 7 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, Texas.
Here is the tyraid at the Lamar Post Game Press Conference:
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