KATY — The Bearkats were staggering and about to go down. But the regular-season champions showed what they were made of in the semifinals of the Southland Conference tournament Thursday night.
Junior guard Lance Pevehouse knocked down a clutch 3-pointer with 1:11 left in the game to help Sam Houston State overcome a five-point deficit. The Bearkats then caught some breaks down the stretch and pulled out a thrilling 88-85 win over Southeastern Louisiana at the Merrell Center.
The victory propelled the Bearkats (24-7) into Saturday’s title game against archrival Stephen F. Austin. Tipoff is set for 3:05 p.m.
“(It was) March basketball for sure,” SHSU head coach Bob Marlin said. “Last night we got a great win against a good team in Nicholls State, and tonight Southeastern gave us a great game as well. They played super.”
So far, Pevehouse has been one of the heroes for the Bearkats in the SLC tournament. In the quarterfinals Wednesday, he had a pivotal tip-in with 36 seconds left to lead Sam Houston past the Colonels 62-57.
Pevehouse came up even bigger Thursday.
The Lions (19-12) got four straight free throws from Robert Tibbs and Jason Marks to take an 83-78 advantage with three minutes to go and things looked bleak for Sam Houston.
But junior Josten Crow knocked down two free throws and senior point guard Ashton Mitchell picked off a pass and raced the length of the court to cut the lead to one. The Bearkats got a stop on the defensive end, then Pevehouse drilled a 3 from the left side of the key to put SHSU on top.
“Every night I come off the bench and come in and try and give our team a spark,” said Pevehouse, who finished with 14 points thanks to a 3-for-4 performance from behind the arc. “It just so happens that the last two nights it has been my night in the end. The last two minutes have been my night.
“I’m just happy to help my team and give intensity.”
Southeastern Louisiana got a hook shot from center Patrick Sullivan, who finished with 14 points, to tie the game at 85 with 45 seconds on the clock. Crow followed with two of his eight points on a bank shot with 12 seconds left.
The Lions had a chance to tie the contest or take the lead, but a costly backcourt violation put the ball back in the Bearkats’ hands. Pevehouse was fouled and hit a free throw to make it a three-point game.
Southeastern Louisiana’s Brandon Fortenberry had a deep look at a 3-pointer in the final seconds, but the shot fell short and senior Preston Brown, who chipped in 12 points for the Kats, secured the rebound and the win.
The Lions were unbelievable at the line. Southeastern Louisiana went 25 of 28 and made 24 straight free throws to close the game.
The thing that really hurt the Lions was turnovers. Southeastern had 21 miscues, which Sam Houston turned into 30 points.
“You help yourself with 25 free throws when you have 21 turnovers,” Lions head coach Jim Yarbrough said about his team’s performance at the line. “A team like that capitalizes. I think it just speaks to the focus we had tonight. We had a focus that we believed that we belonged in the championship game.”
Mitchell had another solid outing for the Bearkats. He finished with 18 points and seven assists. Junior forward Gilberto Clavell was a beast inside, scoring 16 points despite fouling out with under four minutes to go in the second half.
But a huge factor for Sam Houston was that senior Corey Allmond got rolling early. After scoring just two points in the win over Nicholls, the All-SLC guard matched Mitchell with 18 points.
“It was my teammates and my coaching staff still believing in me,” said Allmond, who began the tournament 0 for 7 from the field. “I can’t get down on myself when they are still believing in me. I feel like a shooter is a shooter. The next one is going in.”
Sam Houston State 88, Southeastern Louisiana 85
SE LOUISIANA (19-12)
Marks 3-3 5-5 11, Sullivan 7-10 0-0 14, Hutchin 1-4 0-0 3, Fortenberry 1-6 1-1 3, Patterson 5-11 4-4 15, Johnson 2-5 4-4 8, Tibbs 0-0 4-6 4, Burches 0-0 0-0 0, Ndoumba 3-5 5-6 11, Dixon 6-8 2-2 16. Totals 28-52 25-28 85.
SAM HOUSTON STATE (24-7)
Crow 3-5 2-2 8, Clavell 5-9 6-8 16, Bootle 1-7 0-0 2, Mitchell 6-14 3-6 18, Allmond 6-12 3-4 18, Murray 0-2 0-0 0, Brown 4-8 2-2 12, Pevehouse 4-9 3-6 14, Cooper 0-1 0-0 0, Zulu 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-67 19-28 88.
Halftime—Sam Houston St. 44-41. 3-Point Goals—SE Louisiana 4-10 (Dixon 2-4, Patterson 1-2, Hutchin 1-2, Fortenberry 0-2), Sam Houston St. 11-23 (Mitchell 3-4, Pevehouse 3-4, Allmond 3-8, Brown 2-5, Murray 0-1, Crow 0-1). Fouled Out—Clavell. Rebounds—SE Louisiana 34 (Sullivan 10), Sam Houston St. 35 (Crow 9). Assists—SE Louisiana 13 (Fortenberry, Patterson 4), Sam Houston St. 20 (Mitchell 7). Total Fouls—SE Louisiana 26, Sam Houston St. 23. A—1,343.
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