The Bearkat basketball team opened its season with an overwhelming victory last Friday against the Schreiner Mountaineers. The Sam Houston players filled up the stat sheets and embarrassed the Mountaineers with a final score of 100-42. Transfer guard Corey Allmond led the Bearkat attack in his debut with 24 points. He tied a school record with eight three-point field goals, while Schreiner as a team shot a horrendous 15% from three-point range. The Bearkats jumped out to an early lead with 11 unanswered points. They were up 57-14 at halftime.
The blowout was a team effort, to say the least. Four other Bearkats scored in double figures, including local freshman recruit Drae Murray, who scored 15 points. Seniors DeLuis Ramirez and Domas Kvedys had 12 points each and junior transfer Preston Brown added 10 points. Riley Battle was the only Mountaineer to score in double figures, leading his team with 10 points. The Bearkats out-rebounded the Mountaineers 45-37. Barkley Falkner led Sam Houston with 9 rebounds while Ramirez had 8.
Ashton Mitchell had 11 assists, more than the entire Schreiner team who only totaled 8 assists. The Sam Houston Bearkats are excited about this season, with the few new additions that have been made. They lost key players like Shamir McDaniel, Ryan Bright and Jerry Thomas. But they have added five new players, some from transfers and others from recruiting. Friday’s game is not a direct indication that the Bearkats are for real this year. It is just always encouraging to see the hometown team open the season with a statement, even if it is against the Schreiner Mountaineers. The new players showed that they could be productive and the seniors contributed with the leadership this team will need to make a run later in the season. They will face off against stellar programs, such as UTEP and Texas A&M, before they begin conference play. Schools like Lamar University, Texas-Arlington and rival Stephen F. Austin will look to dominate the league as they did last year. But Sam Houston has upside. They have experience mixed in with a few fresh legs. The Bearkats also have one of the best coaches in the game, Bob Marlin.
The team will return to the Johnson Coliseum on Thursday at 7 p.m. to face off against North Texas after last night’s match-up against Texas Tech. That should actually be a good game with an even greater turnout. I expect to see you there.