Five Bearkats scored in double digits as Sam Houston State demolished Lamar by 29 points in a 79-50 win over Lamar on Monday at Johnson Coliseum.
Cathy Stallard | The Houstonian
Senior guard Kaheem Ransom finished with a game-high 18 points on 6-12 shooting. Senior center Michael Holyfield recorded a double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Holyfield also sank his first seven free throws and finished the game 7-10 from the line.
“I thought we played well,” Ransom said. “We put two halves together and played really good defense.”
Head coach Jason Hooten liked what he saw from Ransom’s performance during the game, he said.
“He is playing great right now,” Hooten said. “I think you’ve got a great look at how good we are when he plays well. The rest of the guys have continued to play good, now when [Ransom] plays good, we’re even better.”
The Kats turned on the jets in the second half, outscoring the Cardinals 42-28 despite their subpar first half shooting. In the first half, the Kats shot 35.7 percent from the field on 10-28 shooting. In the second half, the Kats shot 14-28 from the field.
The Bearkats took advantage of their free throw opportunities as 23 of SHSU’s 79 points came from the charity stripe on 31 attempts.
“We’re 30th in the country in free throw attempts,” Hooten said. “A lot of it has to do with our style, and the other half is just our players. Our guys are in attack mode, trying to get to the basket and get to the free throw line.”
The Kats have won five straight games against Lamar as their last loss to the Cardinals was back in the 2011-12 season.
The Kats will be back in action on Saturday as they host the Islanders of Texas A&M Corpus-Christi at Johnson Coliseum.
“We have a great team coming here,” Hooten said. “Every game we play against them comes down to the wire, and I expect Saturday will be no different.”
Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.