Defense proves supreme once again.
Sam Houston Bearkat men’s basketball grabbed a big 64-57 win Saturday night against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds.
The game had a lot of playoff seeding implications on the line.
With those implications, the Bearkats (22-6, 12-4) and Thunderbirds (19-10, 11-5) were ready for a battle.
It was as advertised as both teams were tied only at 28-28 at the end of the first half.
Sam Houston shot 31% from the field in the first half while Southern Utah shot 37.5%.
Nonetheless, the Bearkats did what they had to do.
Cool down the hot shooting Thunderbirds who averaged 84 points per game heading into the match.
It was top five in the country.
The Kats held the Thunderbirds to 29 points in the second half while they scored 36.
It was another defensive masterclass from SHSU against a top Western Athletic Conference team at home.
Southern Utah were held to 57 points while shooting 30.4% from the field as a team.
While SHSU only shot 39.6% from the field, the defense was enough.
Senior transfer guard Qua Grant had one of the best games of his career with a game-high 22 points.
On this now five-game winning streak Sam Houston is on Grant has averaged 15.8 points per game.
Fellow Bearkat sophomore transfer guard Lamar Wilkerson got back on track with 15 points off the bench.
Sam Houston will now hit the road for their final road game of the season on Wednesday against the arch rivals Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in Nacogdoches, Texas.
The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and on the radio on 101.7 KSAM.
Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m. CT.