By Cody Stark
It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t pretty. But at the end of the day the Bearkats are still unbeaten in Southland Conference play.
Despite a slow start, Sam Houston State used a 13-0 run to close out the first half and never relinquished the lead to hand Texas-San Antonio a 73-67 setback Wednesday night at Johnson Coliseum.
Junior forward Gilberto Clavell was a beast in the paint, hitting 10 of 12 from the floor to score a game-high 27 points as the Bearkats improved to 7-0 in SLC play and 15-5 overall. Senior point guard Ashton Mitchell hit five of Sam Houston’s six 3-pointer to finish with 22 points and seven assists.
“We let those guys dictate the pace of the game early,” Bearkats head coach Bob Marlin said. “Our defense was good. We guarded their ball screen correctly and did a nice job. ... They hit a couple of shots early, but we defended their offense well.
“On the other end. We were a little bit stagnant and it didn’t come as easy tonight as it has in other games. But we were able to hang in there and get our biggest lead at the end of the half.”
Sam Houston opened the game by hitting only 2 of 10 shots from the field to help the Roadrunners (2-5, 12-8) build an 18-14 lead.
The Bearkats finally got hot with three minutes to go. Mitchell sparked the 13-0 run with a jumper, then hit back-to-back 3s following a layup by Josten Crow. Clavell closed the half with an old-fashioned three-point play to send SHSU into the break up 31-22.
Clavell hit two quick layups to start the second half, but the Bearkats started rushing shots.
UTSA got five straight points from senior point guard Omar Johnson and a hook shot by Terry Fields to cut the lead to 35-29.
Sam Houston grabbed its biggest lead of the game when senior Corey Allmond and Crow sparked a 7-0 to make it 46-33 with under 13 minutes left. But again the Roadrunners fought back to get within one at 55-54 when Melvin Johnson buried a 3 seven minutes later.
“We like to get up and down and play fast, so when you play at a pace like that a lot of things are going to go wrong,” Mitchell said. “We just had it in our head to never give up. They never took back the lead tonight, so we stuck together as a team.”
When the Bearkats were at their best Wednesday night, they were getting the ball to Clavell inside. But during the stretch that UTSA cut it to a one-point game, SHSU was settling for the outside shot.
The Kats got back on track in the final three minutes. Mitchell hit a 3 to make it 61-57. Clavell followed with six straight points in the paint and Allmond, who finished with 14 points, hit a layup to push the lead to 10 at the 1:01 mark.
“My teammates help me in the game,” Clavell said. “Even though the 3s weren’t falling, it opened it up on the inside. People don’t know what to do. Are they going to double on the inside? I’m happy with my performance, but it is all about team.”
The Bearkats lost the battle on the glass and missed some easy shots right at the basket, but they took care of the ball and held UTSA to only 41 percent shooting.
Sam Houston had just six turnovers and went 15 of 18 from the free-throw line to send the skidding Roadrunners to their fifth straight loss.
“... As a group we needed a game like this were it doesn’t come as easy and we have to be better equiped on offense to execute our plays and score,” Marlin added. “I thought Ashton Mitchell did a great job for us in the first half and down the stretch.
“Clavell played extremely well and was able to get the ball in the basket.”
The Bearkats host Central Arkansas on Saturday at 7 p.m.
