Feb. 25, 2006
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4551
Sam Houston State edges UTSA, 90-87
Box Score
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Senior Andre Owens scored 26 points, but Jejuan Plair and Chris Jordan combined for 39 points to lead Sam Houston State to a 90-87 win over UTSA on Saturday at Johnson Coliseum.
Owens (right) posted his 12th 20-point game of the season and added seven rebounds, five assists and four steals as UTSA (11-15, 6-9 Southland Conference) fought back from a 12-point deficit early in the second half to within one in the final minutes. Sophomore Abe Donlon poured in a career-high 19 points and eight rebounds, while junior Chris Thompson added 10.
Plair scored 20 and Jordan put up 19, including three 3-pointers, as the Bearkats improved to 19-7 overall and 10-4 in the league. Shamir McDaniel added 12 points as Sam Houston shot 52 free throws on the afternoon, converting 33.
“I told the guys we could walk away from this one with our heads held high,” head coach Tim Carter said. “This is a good ballclub we played but we gave great effort the entire game. It’s tough to overcome the foul trouble we got in and the 52 free throws they attempted, but we had our chances at the end.”
UTSA built an early 10-point lead, 24-14, on a Donlon (left) jumper at the 12:28 mark. Trailing 30-22, the Bearkats used a 12-2 run, capped by a Jordan 3-pointer at the 4:46 mark, to take a 34-32 lead. Sam Houston extended the lead to as many as nine and led 48-41 at the break.
The Bearkats pushed their lead out to 12 on a Jordan jumper at the 16:50 mark that made it 53-41. UTSA trailed by nine, 60-51, with 10:56 to play but used a 12-4 run to pull within one on a pair of Kurt Attaway free throws.
The Roadrunners never trailed by more than six the rest of the way and made things interesting in the final minute. After a 3-point play by John Gardiner made it 87-81 with 37 seconds left, Donlon drained a jumper off an inbounds pass and Owens stole a Jordan pass and converted a lay-up to pull UTSA to within 87-85 with 19 ticks remaining.
Aaron Wade made 1-of-2 free throws to make it 88-85 and then Thompson nailed a pair of free throws with just three seconds left to make it a one-point game. Forced to foul, UTSA sent Jeremy Thomas to the line where he made two freebies for a 90-87 lead. The Roadrunners’ last chance was thwarted as the long inbounds pass was stolen as the buzzer went off to seal the victory for the Bearkats.
The Roadrunners close out the regular season at home against Northwestern State next Friday, March 3. Tip is set for 3 p.m. at the Convocation Center.