In the first of two match-ups between the Texas State Bobcats and Sam Houston men's basketball teams, this one looked bad early on for the Bobcats. But the gymnasium looked great as a full crowd propelled the Bobcats through the stretch as the Bobcats took an exciting four point win over their Conference rivals.
Sam Houston opened up the game just having their way with the Texas State defense, particularly Gilberto Clavell. The bearkats went up by as many as eleven points, but a 16-4 Bobcat run cut that deficit to 26-23 midway through the first half, and both teams kept dropping buckets as the halftime score read 49-45 in Sam Houston's favor.
At intermission, last year’s newcomer of the year Gilberto Clavell already had 18 points and six rebounds on 8-10 shooting from the field. No one else was even in double figures on either team; the Bobcats were shooting 92-percent from the free throw line though -- yes, the Southland Conference’s worst free throw shooting team was 11-12 from the charity stripe.
The track meet continued in the second half as both teams continued to fill it up. Then the Bearkats were dealt a couple of huge blows as their most athletic forward, Marcus James, fouled out at the 9:00 mark, and Clavell backdoored him and picked up his fourth foul.
So tit-for-tat both teams went, now between Senior Bobcat point guard Ryan White and
senior Bearkat forward Josten Crow. Crow picked up the scoring load for his team while White did a little of everything for his, en route to a career high 22 points.
Now on to the drama…
Both preseason All-Conference players, Clavell and Bobcat senior Cameron Johnson, entered the game at exactly 6:08 and both with four fouls. Clavell got the entry pass into the post with Johnson defending, made his move and clearly threw his elbow around, decking Johnson to the floor. The whistle blew and all 2,100 fans awaited the signal for a charge.
They would continue to wait, however, because the referee signaled for a block and
Johnson’s night was officially over -- And boy, did that referee hear it from the Bobcat faithful: he got more boo’s than an cheesy Halloween story.
That call still opened the door for fellow senior forward J.B. Conley to step in, and down the stretch, he and White would provide the bulk of the Bobcat offense. On one possession around the 2:30 mark, White rose amongst the trees down low and grabbed back-to-back offensive rebounds. On the second one, Clavell grabbed him and fouled out of the game. White stepped up the line and knocked down two of his 12 free throws on the night, as both teams continued to battle without their leading scorers.
Strong free throw shooting and even stronger defense by Texas State put them up over the Bearkats for the win, good for a 2-1 Southland Conference record.
White tied his career high in assists with 11. Conley finished with 19 points, and sharpshooter Travis Jones had 15 (5/10 from 3-point range). Johnson had 14 and Uriel Segura played extremely well also as he netted 12 points.
The bobcats are back in action Saturday night at the Birdcage against UTSA for the I-35 shootout. Tip off is at 7:00 p.m. and KTSW will have pregame coverage starting at 6:45 on 89.9 FM and ktsw.net
Robert Fisher, KTSW Assistant Sports Director
No comments:
Post a Comment