If there was a time that the Bearkats could afford to lose a game, it was this past weekend. The Kats traveled to Lake Charles on Saturday to take on the McNeese State Cowboys in a showdown of top teams.
Unfortunately, the Kats (17-7, 8-4) could not come out on top as the Cowboys won 76-64.
The game was marred by turnovers from both teams, with the Kats leading the way with 23.
The game also showed a dramatic shift in rebounding, as the Kats were out rebounded 37-21, which included only two offensive rebounds all night.
Not one Kat had more then four rebounds, and the team suffered as a result. Sam Houston State only had 19 free throw attempts in the game, compared to McNeese’s 34 attempts.
On Saturday night, the Kats were led by Chris Jordan who had 13 points. Jordan was also named the Southland Conference Player of the Week for the second time in the last four weeks. Aaron Wade also contributed, putting in 12 points and grabbing four boards.
Quentin Gonzales led the Cowboys with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The win puts the Cowboys at 13-10 and 8-4 in SLC play.
The victory was crucial for McNeese, who now holds the tiebreaker over the Bearkats, should it come to that for SLC tournament play.
On Wednesday night, the Kats were pumpin’ on all pistons as they beat the Lamar Cardinals in Beaumont, 85-82.
The star of the game was Jordan, who became the 19th player to reach the 1,000 point mark as he was on fire scoring 30.
The senior guard was feeling it all night, as he went 11-14 from the field, including 4-5 from three-point land.
Wade was also huge for the Kats, as he had 17 points and seven rebounds. Jeremy Thomas had a career night, as he scored 13 points in 20 minutes of action.
The game was back and forth throughout, but Ryan Bright put the Kats ahead permanently as he hit a free throw to put the Kats ahead by three making the score 81-78 with 36 seconds left.
Then on the ensuing Cardinal possession, Bright made a steal to seal the deal for the Kat win.
This week, the Kats have two big home games. The first, against the Texas State-San Marcos Bobcats, will be on Thursday at 7 pm.
Then, on Saturday, the University of Texas-San Antonio comes to Huntsville.
That game will start at 5 p.m. In addition, the game will be televised on Fox Sports Net, so come out in mass to support your Bearkats.