Bearkats too much for Lions, 79-61

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – League-leading Sam Houston got 26 points from Bryce Monroe as SHSU pulled away from the Southeastern Louisiana men’s basketball team, 79-61, Wednesday night at Johnson Coliseum.

The Lions (6-12, 4-4 Southland) were led by junior Gus Okafor who recorded his second double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds. SLU’s leading scorer on the season Keon Clergeot, added 14 points while sophomore Isiah Kirby chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds.

The Bearkats (15-6, 9-1 Southland) followed Monroe’s hot hand as he finished 7-for-11 from the field, including 4-for-6 from the three-point line and 8-for-8 at the free throw line. DeMarkus Lampley aided SHSU with 16 points while Javion May added 11 points and nine rebounds, including 7-for-10 from the free throw line.

Early on, SLU had the game at their pace as they battered the Bearkats in the paint getting to the free throw line 18 times in the first half (12-for-18). However, Sam Houston took a 28-20 lead late in the first half as they hit four first half three-pointers while SLU 0-for-7 from long range in the first 20 minutes.

Southeastern cut the deficit to 28-24 with 1:25 left in the first half, but the Bearkats hit seven straight free throws to take a 35-24 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Lions fell behind 45-28 with 13:53 to go. Southeastern fought back going on a 10-2 run to cut the Bearkats’ lead to single digits, 47-38, with 12:02 to go. But that was as close as the Lions got the rest of the way as Sam Houston slowly pulled away for the win.

Despite the loss, the Lions’ defense did its job holding Lampley (19.9 ppg in league play) and Zach Nutall (19.4 ppg), two of the top three scorers in the Southland, to a combined 5-for-18 shooting for 18 points.

Southeastern also outrebounded the Bearkats, 40-31, and ripped down 19 offensive rebounds. However, the Lions shot just 17-for-50 from the field for 34 percent, 24-for-38 (63 percent) from the free throw line and had 20 turnovers.

Sam Houston shot 24-for-52 from the field for 46 percent, 8-for-24 (33 percent) from the three-point line and 23-for-31 from the free throw line.

The Bearkats improved to 10-0 at home this season as they defeated the Lions for the 10 time in 11 games.

Next up, Southeastern will return home to face Nicholls Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the second half of a double header following the SLU women’s game vs. Nicholls.

SLU 61 (6-12, 4-5 Southland)
Ifejeh 0-5, 1-4 2, Okafor 6-11, 4-10 18, Kirby 3-6, 5-7 11, Clergeot 3-5, 7-7 14, Kasperzyk 3-7, 0-0 6, Smith 0-3, 2-2 2, Strange 0-2, 0-0 0, Caldwell 2-9, 4-6 8, Romanov 0-1, 1-2 1, Kemp 0-0, 0-0 0, Warren 0-0, 0-0 0, Brackmann 0-0, 0-0 0, Howell 0-1, 0-0 0
Totals 17-50, 24-38 61
SHSU 79 (15-6, 9-1 Southland)
Ikpe 1-2, 2-4 4, Lampley 4-11, 5-6 16, Nutall 1-7, 0-0 2, May 2-6, 7-10 11, Powers 2-5, 0-1 5, Crump 2-2, 0-1 4, Monroe 7-11, 8-8 26, Cook 0-2, 0-0 0, Robertson 2-2, 1-1 5, Scroggins 2-3, 0-0 4, Thomas 1-1, 0-0 2
Totals 24-52, 23-31 79
Halftime – SHSU 35, SLU 24. 3-point goals – SLU 3-15 (Okafor 2-3, Clergeot 1-2, Kirby 0-3, Kasperzyk 0-2, Strange 0-2, Caldwell 0-2, Smith 0-1) SHSU 8-24 (Monroe 4-6, Lampley 3-8, Powers 1-2, Nutall 0-5, Cook 0-2, May 0-1). Technical Fouls SLU – Kasperzyk, Kirby, Bench. SHSU – None. Fouled Out – SLU Kasperzyk. SHSU – None Rebounds – SLU 40, SHSU 31 (SLU – Okafor 12), (SHSU – May 9). Assists – SLU 5 (Clergeot 2), SHSU 14 (Monroe 4). Total Fouls – SLU 23, SHSU 29