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Tuesday, March 8, 2011 twitter.com/HoustonianSport
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Battle that never ends Sam Houston State faces Stephen F. Austin for the third time this season, second time in a week. The stakes? Win or go home Brandon Scott Sports Editor
HUNTSVILLE - The rivalries continue - all of them. Last week, men’s basketball rolled over Stephen F. Austin 55-40 in Nacogdoches. Saturday, the Kats piled on against Texas State, winning 93-79. SFA and Texas State are the most despised rivals on campus, and the Bearkats closed out their regular season beating them both in convincing fashion. On senior day, against the Bobcats, Lance Pevehouse played his last game at Johnson Coliseum, with an unforgettable performance. Pevehouse racked up 25 points, going seven-of-10 from long range. “After I got hot, I
think everybody played harder offensively and defensively,” Pevehouse said. “We were setting great screens tonight and we were moving the ball well. On defense, were pressuring them and sticking to our game plan.” First year head coach Jason Hooten has been a part of many senior days, knowing what type of distraction it can be. The Kats celebrated during the week and even had light practices for the seniors. “I wanted today to be special for them,” Hooten said. “But I didn’t want it to distract what we were trying to do as a team. The reason I was that way is because I know that’s what those guys would want. I thought they handled themselves really well.”
Hooten, with good reason, was teary-eyed after the game. It’s his first set of seniors; Gilberto Clavell, Josten Crow and Lance Pevehouse. Those players also played critical roles in last season’s conference tournament, in which case the livelihood of mid-major schools like SHSU relies on. In 2010, the Kats beat SFA in the championship game, on the way to making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2003 (when they also beat SFA in the championship game). The Lumberjacks were pre-season picks to win the conference. Instead, they face the Bearkats as a sixth seed in the first round. Junior big man Jereal Scott leads SFA with 13.7 points per game and senior
Jordan Glynn averages 11.6 points. Clavell typically plays well against SFA’s bigs, averaging just over 21 points against SFA during his career. In last season’s conference opener, SFA head coach Dan Kasper candidly stated that the game was decided when SHSU won Clavell in the recruiting wars. Be that as it may, excuses won’t protect SFA from the Bearkat attack. “Stephen F. Austin is really good,” Hooten said. “They’re well-coached. They’ll play way better than they did at their place the other day. It will be a knock-down, drag out (game). They’ll be ready. But our guys will be ready too.”
Jessica Gomez | The Houstonian
BORN A LEADER. Lance Pevehouse (above) led the Bearkats on senior night, with 25 points, shooting 70 percent from 3
Ladies take on UTSA in first round Lotis Butchko Sports Reporter
Jessica Gomez | The Houstonian
TAKING CONTROL. Khamra Echols is usually a defensive catalyst. But she came out shooting against Texas State with a game-high 19 points
Last night the women’s basketball team gathered around for a team dinner. They were greeted with a gourmet meal, and had laughs before the week that lies ahead of them. In the next week, the Kats will play three games in four days – assuming they win each game – and the last team standing will go to the NCAA tournament. Their first game will take place today at eight o clock at night against the University of Texas – San Antonio Roadrunners. This will be UTSA’s second to last season in the Southland Conference as they bid farewell in
Kats win nine straight
Courtesy of SHSU Athletic Media Services LEFTY ON THE MOUND. Backed by a solid effort on the mound by Brent Powers, seven different Bearkats got hits and Sam Houston defeated Massachusetts 9-1 on Saturday night
Brandon Scott Sports Editor
Sam Houston State extended its baseball winning streak to nine games as the Bearkats defeated Michigan 8-0 and Massachusetts 6-2 to earn their second tournament championship in as many weekends. The Kats went 4-0 in the Hensen Family Dealership/ First National Bank of Huntsville Invitational to raise their 2011 record to 102. Home runs by Luke Plucheck and Mark Hudson helped lead Sam Houston to an 8-0 victory over Michigan Sunday afternoon to start the final day of the tournament. “We feel good because we’re starting to gell,” Bearkats center fielder Mark Hudson said. “The pitchers are really giving us an opportunity to win because they’re throwing a lot of strikes, pounding the zone because they trust their stuff. The defense is doing good. We’re really confident about this team.” After three scoreless innings, Hudson tallied the first run for the Bearkats after walking, reaching third on a pair of ground outs and scoring on a wild pitch. In the fifth inning, Plucheck bashed his home run and Ryan Mooney added an RBI single.
Braeden Riley and John Hale extended the lead with a pair of RBI singles as the Bearkats rolled up three more runs in the top of the sixth inning. Hudson’s solo shot and an RBI single by Kevin Miller wrapped up the scoring in the seventh inning. Brandon Kimbell was the game winner on the mound, allowing five hits in seven innings while striking out nine batters. Michael Oros pitched in relief. Back-to-back triples by Mark Hudson and Greg Olson highlighted the second game in the 6-2 win over UMass. Hudson, Olson and Ryan Mooney each produced a pair of hits as Sam Houston totaled 12 hits as a team. Caleb Smith picked up the victory on the mound, striking out seven in six innings. “Caleb Smith was just outstanding today,” Sam Houston head coach Mark Johnson said. “He walked his first guy in the sixth inning. He threw minimal pitches. He had just a dynamite off-speed pitch going. He was throwing at a high velocity, too. For a freshman, that’s as good as you’re going to get. That was really, really good.” Sam Houston travels to Houston Tuesday for a game with Rice. *SHSU Athletic Media Services provided information for this report
two years and head to the Western Athletic Conference. The Roadrunners will provide an interesting matchup. They split the season with the Bearkats, both teams winning their home game. Unlike Lamar or McNeese, San Antonio has been able to find a way to win without the amazing shooters or high octane offense. In the one game that the roadrunners did beat the Kats, they were able to take advantage of their superb Amber Gregg. Gregg is the point guard for the Roadrunners. Last year she played well as the Roadrunners won the Southland Conference tournament and went on to play in the NCAA
tournament against Baylor. Assisting Gregg will be lights out shooter Alysse Davis. “We can’t let her pull the trigger,” said wing Britni Martin, the Bearkats leading scorer. “If she gets hot, it will be a long game.” Defensively, the Roadrunners will run a triangle and two against the Kats. This will play a big role in shutting down Martin, making sure that post players and guards will have to get their points in this game as well. For the Kats, nothing may be more worrisome than their own games. In their two last games the Bearkats have started slow, in the first two halves of
the last games Martin has had only two points, but in the second halves she has had a combined 33 points. The teams new found mental toughness will have to break through as their biggest opponent could be themselves.
“This team has accomplished so much and been such a pleasure to coach.” - SHSU head coach Brenda Nichols