Feb. 23, 2006

Box Score

HUNTSVILLE - Sam Houston State drained 14 three-pointers, including five by Jeremy Thomas who scored 17 points off the bench, as the Bearkats defeated Texas State 75-61 Thursday in Johnson Coliseum.

Thomas was one of six Sam Houston State players to score from outside as 14 of the Bearkats' 27 field goals were three-pointers. Sam Houston shot 54 percent from the field including 46 percent from three-point range (14-of-30).

With the win, Sam Houston remained in second place in the Southland Conference, improving to 18-7 and 9-4 in league play. Texas State dropped to 3-21 and 1-12. The Bobcats continue their two-game road swing through East Texas Saturday when they play at Stephen F. Austin.

Sam Houston State scored the first seven points of the second half to build a double-digit lead. Aaron Wade knocked down a three-pointer to start the run and later had a fade-away jumper that gave the Bearkats a 40-29 lead. SHSU would go on to build as much as a 19-point lead in the half.

Brandon Bush's three-point play with 8:39 left cut the Bearkats' lead to 57-47. Texas State would not get closer than eight down the stretch. After Jajuan Plair missed the front end of a bonus situation, Chris Langhorne drove inside for a layin to cut the lead to 57-49 with 8:13 to play.

Langhorne led the Bobcats with 17 points, going 7-of-14 from the field. It was the senior's fourth straight, double-figure scoring game. Bush added 13 points off the bench. Charles Dotson, the Bobcats' leading scorer, was held to just seven points as the Bearkats double-teamed the senior inside. Dotson would also finish with eight rebounds.

Chris Jordan added 14 points for Sam Houston State while Plair scored 12, including 3-of-6 from behind the arc.

After Thomas knocked down one of his four, first-half three-pointers, Texas State scored six unanswered points to take a 23-19 lead with 7:03 to play in the period. Thomas would later will the Bearkats back out in front with three-pointers on consecutive possessions, the second giving Sam Houston a 26-25 lead with 5:21 left.

Shamir McDonald would drain another three-pointer to stretch Sam Houston's lead to 29-25. A pair of free throws by Langhorne would cut the lead back to two before the Bearkats closed the half strong.

Dotson came down with the rebound of a missed Thomas three-pointer but Kelvin Williams would steal a Bobcat pass inside and go the distance for a dunk that again gave the Bearkats a four-point lead at 31-27 with 2:10 to play in the half. No call was made when Dotson drew contact on a layin attempt at the other end and Williams would score on a layin to give Sam Houston State its biggest lead of the half at 33-27 with 1:15 to play.

Texas State would cut the lead to 33-29 on a pair of Dylan Mosley free throws before the break.