There are quite a few things that can be attributed to the Bearkats success in Conference play this season. Two of the most important factors are senior guards Cameron and Josh Delaney.
The Delaney brothers have spearheaded the Bearkats offensively this season, and have helped lead the Bearkats atop the Southland Conference through nine games in league play. Early in conference play on Jan. 12 Cameron Delaney scored 25 points in a hard fought win over University of Incarnate Word. Delaney was able to get hot shooting the ball late in the game to help the Bearkats put away the Cardinals. The week prior in their conference opener on Jan. 5 against Abilene Christian University, it was Josh Delaney who had the hot hand, scoring a career high 30 points.
It’s not just those two nights where the Delaney brothers have gotten hot. Cameron Delaney has led the Bearkats in scoring in six games this season, the most of any Bearkat player. Delaney also leads the team in three pointers made with 46 on the season, with Josh sitting second on the team with 38. The brothers are also two of the top three scorers on the team. Cam leads the team in scoring with 12 points per game, while Josh is the third leading scorer with 10.1 points per game.
For the brothers they are trying to mimic some of the success that they their senior year of high school together at Harker Heights. Their senior season at Harker Heights the brothers were able to lead their team to a district championship. They led their team deep into the playoffs as well, making it to the regional semifinal before losing to eventual runner up Desoto high school. At that time the brothers thought it would be their last time playing together.“I really felt like that was the last time that me and Cameron would play basketball together,” Josh Delaney said. “Originally he committed to University of Denver and I came to Sam Houston, so I felt like that because that was our last year playing together we had to make it a special one.”
This season is seen as a second chance of sorts for the brothers. They now unexpectedly get to have one last season on the court together. They have gotten off to a great start in conference play, and every team’s goal coming into a season is to win their conference. The Delaney’s though say that this season’s success will not be defined by wins and losses necessarily.“This season is successful if we follow the game plan,” Josh Delaney said. “When we follow that it works well for us.”For Cameron success is a little bit simpler than that.“This season is a success if we treat every game like it’s a championship game,” Delaney said. “And play for 40 minutes every night.”The Delaney’s are focused on the process, as both of their careers have been a process to get to this point. Now they are trying to make the most of it.