Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Bulldogs 66, Sam Houston 61 (OT)
Points were very hard to come by Saturday inside the Thomas Assembly Center.
But in the end, Louisiana Tech rode its stellar defense to a 66-61 overtime victory against Sam Houston to extend its home winning streak to eight games in front of a season-high 3,141 fans.
“It was a hard-fought game,” said head coach Talvin Hester. “But we fought till the end. I thought in a lot of different areas we got some good things. When they were being physical with [Daniel] Batcho and he was struggling, I thought how were we going to score.
“I looked up and it was 46-49 and thought this was the ugliest offensive game on television. But we started to move the ball around. Then we were able to turn some defense into offense to help get some easy baskets.”
Much like its previous game last Saturday against Middle Tennessee, LA Tech (16-6, 5-4 CUSA) needed a late comeback. Down five with 6:58 remaining, the Bulldogs did not allow a single field goal by Sam Houston (8-14, 1-8 CUSA) the remainder of regulation and used a 7-0 to help force overtime.
In OT, the ‘Dogs used another 7-0 run to gain a four-point edge and then the clutch Sean Newman Jr. calmly sank six straight free throws to grab the victory over the Bearkats.
“How focused he is late in games when they are closed,” said Hester about Newman. “You can see how focused and how locked in he gets. It gets to a point where he is telling me who he thinks should be on the floor. And he is so smart. He takes what the defense gives him.”
Sam Houston made its largest run in the first half, using an 8-0 spurt to gain a six-point advantage. Newman Jr. would stop the momentum, burying a three-pointer followed by a reverse layup to cut the deficit back to one. The point guard would also give LA Tech a 32-30 lead at the break after connecting on a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer.
However, the Bearkats would make four of its first five field goal attempts in the second stanza to retake the lead and force a timeout by Hester with 17:21 remaining.
LA Tech would only make 12 points in the first 13 minutes of the second half. Even so, the defense was strong enough to stay within striking distance.
Batcho cut it back to a one-possession game at the 5:01 mark with a thundering slam. More defensive steps let to offensive opportunities like Jordan Crawford making it a one-point game on a tough layup in traffic. Then it was Newman Jr. scoring off the glass following a massive block by Batcho to give LA Tech its very first lead of the second half with 1:28 left.
Newman Jr. would miss a rare free throw but then make the second, making it 51-49 in favor of the Bulldogs. After over six minutes, the Bearkats finally scored thanks to a pair of free throws by Marcus Boykins with 31 ticks to go that would ultimately force the extra five minutes.
In the extra frame, Sam Houston had a three-point lead until Amaree Abram connected for his fourth three-pointer of the game to tie the game up for a seventh time at 56-56. It sparked what was another timely 7-0 run to put the ‘Dogs up four.
The Bearkats made it interesting though when Boykin secured a three-point play with 27 seconds left in OT, but Newman Jr. sank two FTs and then sank four more to ice the game at the foul line.
Newman Jr. scored a game-high 22 points to go along with eight assists. Batcho recorded his second straight double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five rejections. And Abram matched his stellar defensive effort with 16 points on the offensive end.
Wilkerson led the Bearkats in scoring with 17 as Sam Houston, one of the best shooting teams in the league, was limited to 35.6 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from long range.
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Sam Houston 70, Lady Techsters 65
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Louisiana Tech women’s basketball team dropped the road contest to Sam Houston 70-65 on Saturday at the Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
Louisiana Tech (11-9, 4-5 CUSA) didn’t allow Sam Houston (9-10, 2-7) to score until three minutes into the game. However, the Lady Techster offense could only score one basket until that point.
Paris Bradley stole the ball from the Bearkats, pushed it upcourt, and found Sydney Thomas open in the corner for a three. That ignited a 12-0 run by the Techsters over a two-and-a-half minute span, including four points from Bradley and another triple from Thomas. SHSU used an 8-2 run over the final three minutes of the quarter to cut the deficit to 16-14 after one.
Turnovers started to play a significant factor for LA Tech. After committing nine in the first quarter. The Techsters had eight more in the second but, thanks to a 42.3 percent shooting clip, still held on to a 29-24 lead heading into the locker room.
“Keeping them off the offensive boards, taking care of the ball and defending without fouling was the focus all week,” Lady Techster head coach Brooke Stoehr said. “I didn’t do a good enough job of pounding home the importance of those three things because we lacked consistency in those areas today. It’s hard to win games turning the ball over 30 times. Sam Houston made the toughness plays in the fourth quarter and took advantage of every one of our mistakes down the stretch.
“We missed an opportunity to gain some momentum heading into the second half of conference play. We’ll go back to work Monday and teach and try to find a way to put them in position to get a rebound, defend without fouling and take care of the basketball. There is a lot of basketball left to be played and this group is capable of winning.”
Louisiana Tech cut down on the turnovers but still finished with five in the third while giving up seven offensive boards. Bradley accounted for seven of her team-high 18 points in the stanza as the Techsters held on to a 45-43 lead heading into the fourth.
Tech came out in the fourth and looked to put separation between themselves and the Bearkats. A 9-2 run to open the quarter had the Techsters extend the lead to 54-45 with seven minutes to go. Sam Houston fought back with eight straight before a Jordan Marshall three from the top of the key put Tech back up four. The teams would trade free throws until a pair by the Bearkats gave the home team their first lead since the second quarter.
The turnovers came back to hurt Tech as the Techsters finished with eight in the final stanza, which allowed Sam Houston to score 27 points in the quarter to take the game.
Louisiana Tech shot 45.1 percent from the field, 5-13 behind the arc, and 14-24 from the charity stripe. Jordan Marshall tied Bradley with 18 points while adding 12 boards for her fifth double-double of the season. Sydney Thomas was the only other Techster to finish in double figures with 11 points.
Sam Houston finished shooting 41.9 percent from the field, 25.0 from long range, and 68.2 from the free throw line. Five of the seven players who played for the Bearkats scored in double figures, led by Nyla Inmon with 19. Deborah Ogayemi had a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.
