Bearkats MBB And WBB Aims For Strong Finish
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
With two weeks to go in the regular season, every game is important as both the Bearkat men’s and women’s basketball teams battle to position themselves for the Southland Conference tournament.
Sam Houston hosts Nicholls State Thursday at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum with the women tipping at 5:30 p.m. and the men following at approximately 8:45 p.m.
The Bearkat men (14-13, 7-7) rank fifth in the Southland race, one game behind Southeastern Louisiana.
Each of the top four seeds receive a first round bye in the Southland Tournament to be held at the Ferrell Center in Katy March 13-16.
Nicholls (7-18, 6-8) is a game behind the Kats in the standings.
The Colonels defeated Sam Houston 70-67 in overtime in their first meeting in Thibodaux, La., on Jan. 26.
Sam Houston has been getting solid scoring performances from James Thomas who has put up double figure performances in each of the last four games including 26 points at Central Arkansas.
While the Sam Houston women are one-half game behind league leader Oral Roberts in the standings, the Bearkat women hold their Southland fate in their own hands.
If the Bearkats can win their final four games, the women can do no worse than tie for the 2013 Southland Conference women’s regular season title and assure themselves of at least a top two seed.
Seniors Britni Martin, Sequeena Thomas and Chanice Smith account for 28.9 of Sam Houston’s 60.9 points per game.
Sam Houston defeated the Nicholls women in Thibodaux 70-63 earlier this year.
The Bearkats lead the all-time series with Nicholls 30 victories to 18 and have won the last four meetings in a row.
Fans may order tickets to the doubleheader on-line at www.gobearkats.com or call the ticket office at (936) 294-1729.
The women’s game will be broadcast live on 104.5 FM The Hits.
The mens’ game will air on KSAM 101.7 FM.
Bearkat Volleyball Advances To Semifinals In SLC Tournament
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Led by Deveney Wells-Gibson with 16 kills, Sam Houston defeated Nicholls State to advance to the semifinals of the Southland Conference Volleyball Tournament.
The tournament is being hosted by Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas.
No. 2 Sam Houston defeated No. 6 Nicholls State 25-22 25-12 25-19.
The Kats will face the winner of the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Oral Roberts matchup.
The Southland Player of the Year, Wells-Gibson put up a dominant performance against the Colonels with her 27th double figure kill performance of the year.
Friday’s first set had 14 ties and 10 lead changes before the Kats finished it off 25-22.
In the second set, Sam Houston led from the beginning after jumping out to an early 5-0 lead.
Nicholls found itself within four at 11-7, but the Bearkats finished the set on a 14-5 run to win the second set, 25-12.
The third set was much like the first as both teams tied 14 teams and exchanged the lead five times, but Sam Houston finished the match on a 9-3 run to win the set 25-19 and finish off the sweep. Wells-Gibson led the charge with six kills in the final set.
Kaylee Hawkins, who was named honorable mention All-Southland, added 12 kills for the Bearkats.
Second team All-Southland member, Kim Black had six kills and four blocks for the Kats.
Tayler Gray, who was the second team All-Southland setter, had 37 assists.
For Nicholls, Jennifer Brandt and Sarah Terry each led the team with six kills.
Sam Houston advances to play the winner of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Oral Roberts, which begins at 1:30 p.m. today.
The semifinal match will commence at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Farris Center and will be streamed on the Southland Digital Network.
Bearkats Move Up To No.5 In National Rankings
by Cheval John
After destroying McNeese State Cowboys 45-10 last Saturday night, the Sam Houston State Bearkats have moved up to No.5 in both the Coaches Polls and the Sports Network FCS
polls.
The Bearkats have been in the FCS Top 25 National Rankings for a record 20 consecutive weeks and have an overall record of 5-2.
The win against the Cowboys extends their winning streak to four games and are aiming for their fifth straight win when they face Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas this Saturday on the Southland Conference Television Network.
They will be playing without linebacker Darius Taylor, who was suspended for one game by Southland Conference commissioner Tom Burnett for a “hit on a defensless player” on October 13 against Nicholls State.
“It is an unfortunate decision forcing Darius to miss a game,” SHSU director of athletics Bobby Williams said to gobearkats.com.
“We disagree with the ruling that this was a targeted hit. We asked the league to take a second look at the play in comparison to other similar hits that went unpunished this season and were denied on the appeal.”
Taylor accumulated 45 tackles and five sacks during this season.
Kickoff is at 3:05 p.m.
No.9 Bearkats Beats Down Nicholls State 41-0
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
THIBIDOUX, La. – Two Bearkats added to their career achievements as they led Sam Houston to a 41-0 victory over Nicholls State Saturday night at Guidry Stadium.
The win improved the No. 9 ranked Sam Houston football team to 4-2 for the year and 2-1 in Southland Conference play.
Timothy Flanders now is the all-time leading scorer in Bearkat football history.
His three touchdowns up his career point total to 270, passing kicker Billy Hayes who totaled 258 points from 1985 to 1988.
Flanders rushed 15 times for 67 yards, leaving the game after three quarters.
SHSU’s all-time rushing leader, Flanders now ranks ninth in Southland Conference career rushing with 3,159 career yards.
Brian Bell became Sam Houston State’s second all-time leader in touchdown passes with a pair of scoring throws.
The junior signal-caller completed 15 of 19 passes for 180 yards.
The two TD passes give a career total of 38, moving ahead of Rhett Bomar (37 TD passes in 2007-08) and one behind Dustin Long (39 TD throws in 2004).
Richard Sincere and Trey Diller added big plays as well.
Sincere rushed six times for 74 yards including a long gain of 47 yards and caught a 25-yard pass.
Diller led both teams with seven catches for 72 yards and returned a punt 49 yards to set up a score.
Sam Houston outgained Nicholls 453 total yards to 258. The Kats allowed the Colonels only 20 yards rushing.
The shutout was the second in the past two seasons for SHSU.
The last one occurred last year in a 66-0 win over blanked Lamar.
After a Nicholls State missed field goal, Sam Houston drove 80-yards in 11 plays for a Flanders touchdown from the one-yard line eight seconds into the second quarter.
Bell passes for Shane Young for 24 yards to the Colonel 33 and Diller for 17 to the Colonel 14 were key plays in the drive.
Jesse Beauchamp’s fumble recovery after a tackle by Kenneth Jenkins set up the Kats’ second score.
Three Bell passes highlighted the seven-play, 48-yard drive. Bell hit Richard Sincere for a 25-yard gain to the Nicholls 21.
On third-and-13, the quarterback passed 14 yards to Diller.
Melvis Pride scored with 4:20 remaining in the second quarter on a five-yard pass.
Sam Houston started the second half with a seven-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 25-yard scoring run by Flanders, putting the Kats up 21-0 three minutes into the third quarter.
Flanders scored another one-yard touchdown with 4:54 to play in the third as the Bearkats drove 90-yards in nine plays.
Sincere’s 47-yard run to the Nicholls 11-yard line was the big play of the possession.
Diller’s 49-yard punt return to the Nicholls 40 set up another touchdown on SHSU’s third drive in the quarter.
The Kats took only four plays to score as Bell hit Chance Nelson for a 18-yard touchdown.
The tally gave SHSU a 34-0 lead with 10 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Ridgeway Frank picked up a touchdown on a five-yard run with 5:21 remaining to complete a eight-play, 51-yard drive in the fourth quarter.