By Cody Stark
Assistant Sports Editor
HUNTSVILLE — This is the matchup that the Bearkats were hoping for.
In fact, Sam Houston State has been waiting a year for its shot at Stephen F. Austin in the Southland Conference tournament championship game, which will be held at 3 p.m. today at the Merrell Center in Katy.
Last season, the Lumberjacks knocked off the Bearkats in the SLC opener, which was the only meeting between the two schools. That game ultimately decided the regular-season title, as SFA finished one game ahead of Sam Houston in the final standings.
The Kats wanted another shot at the Lumberjacks in the SLC tournament, but Texas-San Antonio shocked SHSU in the opening round. SFA later topped the Roadrunners in the championship game to earn a trip to the NCAA tournament.
The shoe is on the other foot this time around.
The Bearkats (24-7) took care of the Lumberjacks (23-8) 66-57 in the only regular-season meeting between the two back on Jan. 9 in Huntsville. The win sparked an 11-game SLC winning streak for Sam Houston, which helped wrap up the league championship, and SFA went on the finish second.
“We have been looking forward to this,” Bearkats head coach Bob Marlin said Friday. “Last year it was basically the same thing. We lost to them and they finished 13-3 and we went 12-4. In the tournament we were hoping to get another shot at them. We wanted to make it to the championship game and we didn’t get it done.
“This year it was in reverse. They said they wanted another shot at us and they got it done. It should be a great game.”
Today will be a rematch of the 2003 SLC tournament championship game. Back when the tournament was hosted by the highest seed remaining, the Bearkats got a 3-pointer from Donald Cole with 13 seconds left in overtime to punch the school’s first-ever ticket to the NCAA tournament with a 69-66 victory over the Jacks at Johnson Coliseum.
So, SFA is also looking for a little payback that has been seven years in the making.
The Lumberjacks were a surprise team this season. They lost two SLC players of the year in Josh Alexander (2008) and Matt Kingsley (2009) who guided SFA to its remarkable run in 2009.
But some new faces have stepped up, including second-team All-SLC guard Eddie Williams, to get the Jacks back into the title game after rolling Texas-Arlington 77-54 in the opening round Wednesday and holding off Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 60-53 in the semifinals Thursday.
“This is a special win and a special team,” SFA head coach Danny Kaspar said following the win over the Islanders. “Even I had my doubts about being where we are today. At the beginning of the year we started with so many new players but it’s really come together for us.
“... I’m just so very proud of this team and what they’ve accomplished with so many new faces.”
The Bearkats, on the other hand, have been pushed to the limit so far in the SLC tournament. The conference champs had to fight tooth and nail to hold off eighth-seeded Nicholls 62-57 in the opening round Wednesday.
In one of the most memorable games in the tournament’s history, Sam Houston won a slugfest with fourth-seeded Southeastern Louisiana in the semifinals.
The Kats were down by five with three minutes to go, but got big plays down the stretch from Lance Pevehouse, Josten Crow and Ashton Mitchell to rally for an 88-85 victory.
“I think preparing for Nicholls really helped us. They are a lot like Stephen F.,” Marlin added. “SFA is generally pretty good. Year in and year out you know what you are going to get from them when they step on the court.
“We have to play good defense. We held them to 40 percent (shooting) in the first game. They also had 12 turnovers to our six. But we didn’t shoot well. Hopefully the officials will let us play and we will shoot the ball better.”
