Jan. 27, 2007

Box Score

SAN MARCOS - James Barrett scored 20 points, going 6-for-10 from the field in the second half, to help lead Sam Houston State to an 88-74 win over Texas State Saturday in Johnson Coliseum.

Barrett made just two free throws in the first half before providing a spark in the second period. The junior transfer's performance picked up where C.J. Hadley's first-half play left off. Hadley scored 16 first-half points but was held to a single bucket in the second half to finish with 18.

With the win, Sam Houston rebounded from a road loss at Texas-Arlington earlier in the week to improve 13-7 and 5-2. Texas State slipped to 8-13 and 3-5. The Bobcats return home Saturday to take on UTA. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.

Sam Houston State dominated the glass, outrebounding the Bobcats 45-33. The Bearkats scored 19 second-chance points off 21 offensive boards.

Texas State's lone lead came when Chris Agwumaro raced through the paint for a slam dunk that broke a scoreless deadlock more than three minutes into the game. Agwumaro went on to score 20 points and pull down seven rebounds, both career highs.

After Agwumaro's dunk, Hadley scored Sam Houston State's next eight points and the Bearkats would not trail again in the game.

Texas State did cut SHSU's lead to one point, 26-25 on a pair of free throws at the 3:55 mark of the first half but the Bearkats would stretch their lead to 32-25 with six unanswered points. Matt Fullenwider would drill a three-pointer to stop the rally but Sam Houston would finish the half with a pair of three-pointers and led 40-31 at the break.

Sam Houston State would extend its lead after the break to as many as 16 in the second half before the Bobcats rallied. A Blanchard steal and feed to Agwumaro for a fastbreak layup cut the Bearkats' lead to 71-65 with 5:26 remaining. The play capped a 6-0 Texas State run which included a pair of free throws by Matt Fullenwider and a baseline drive to the goal by Brandon Thomas.

In addition to Agwumaro's career night, Fullenwider also registered a career scoring mark with 20 points. It was just the third 20-point game by a player other than Brandon Bush. Fullenwider was 5-for-9 from the field and knocked down 8-of-10 free throws.

Entering the game, Bush was leading the Southland Conference in scoring in league games at 19.4 points a game but was held to nine points against the Bearkats on 3-of-9 shooting.