The Sam Houston basketball team was defeated by North Texas this past Thursday night 76-71. Despite a hard fight between both teams, Noth Texas fought harder. Throughout the night, neither team could gain a significant edge. Corey Allmond led Sam Houston with 15 points as he continues his season with good shooting, while Barkley Falkner added 13 points, and Preston Brown with 11. Josh White led North Texas with a game high 19 points, and received a decent contribution from his entire team.
There was tough defense from both teams, which allowed the game to stay competitive, even though North Texas may have had the better team. There were several lead changes and tied scores in the first half before North Texas went into halftime with a two point lead.
The Bearkats began the second half with an aggressive attack and commanded there biggest lead of the game with 44-37. But between the scoring runs by North Texas and the poor free throw shooting by Sam Houston, the game was in favor of North Texas. They went on a 9-2 run to take the lead, and soon after would maintain it with the Bearkats inching their way for the rest of the game. North Texas shot better from the field at .521 percent than Sam Houston did from the foul line at .517 percent. Double digit scorers Barkley Falkner and Preston Brown missed 7 free throws between the two of them which could have possibly made the difference because Sam Houston only lost by five points. However, the Bearkats did everything well from an overall stand-point. They had more points off turnovers and even outscored North Texas inside the paint.
A very intricate part to the success of teams in most sports is the production of the supporting cast, and the bench did not deliver. North Texas doubled the Bearkat bench in scoring with a 33-15 advantage.
On a personal note, Sam Houston has a few new players who are still getting acclimated to not only the team system, but NCAA Division I play in general. Thursday night’s matchup is exactly what Sam Houston needed in order to be ready as they move forward. They have to learn how to win against a team who is just as good as them, maybe even a little better.
The Bearkats will have another chance to rebound from their loss when they take on Western Michigan tonight at 7 p.m. at Johnson Colesium.