THE DAY SPORTS STOPPED.
First in a series of articles looking at the week when sports were stopped by the coronavirus pandemic.
TUESDAY
Rockets and NBA THURSDAY High schools
Sam Houston State had so much to play for Saturday.
Stephen F. Austin’s season was to end at Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, regardless of the outcome due to a postseason ban.
Staring the Bearkats in the face was a Southland Conference championship, as well as a No. 1 seed in the league tournament in Katy.
With nothing to lose, SFA overcame 22 turnovers to upend Sam Houston 64-59, a demoralizing loss for the Bearkats, who lost for the first time at home this season in 13 games.
“I thought we were ready to play,” Bearkats coach Jason Hooten said. “I don’t think the moment was too big for these guys. I looked up at one time, we had three freshmen on the court. It’s as disappointed as I’ve been in a long time.”
One of those freshmen, guard Bryce Monroe scored a game-high 24 points, all coming in the second half, a 20-minute period in which the Bearkats led only once – 46-45 with 7:33 remaining.
Sam Houston, which trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half, had a good look to tie the game with 20 seconds left. But Jarren Cook misfired on a 3-point attempt.
“It was unusual for them to be behind,” Lumberjacks coach Kyle Keller said. “And we had nothing to play for, and they had everything to play for. All the pressure was on them. They missed a lot of shots they normally make.”
Poor shooting derailed the Bearkats, who converted only 18 of 57 shots (31.6 percent) from the field. The Bearkats were outrebounded 42-32 and outscored in the paint 40-20.
“We’re a team that plays small ball, we got to make shots,” Hooten said. “If we don’t make shots, we don’t have much of an inside game. They won their style of game. We have to win our style of game.”
Demarcus Lampley added 11 points for Sam Houston (19-8, 13-3), which goes into the Southland Conference Tournament at the Merrell Center as the No. 3 seed.
The Bearkats’ Zach Nutall, a leading candidate for the SLC Player of the Year, got in early foul trouble. The 6-3 junior guard scored all 10 of his points in the first 20 minutes. A half in which the Kats trailed 28-19 after jumping out to an 11-4 lead less than five minutes in after a 3-pointer from Nutall.
Gavin Kensmil and David Kachelries scored a teamhigh 17 points for SFA (16-5, 12-3), which swept the season series. Cameron Johnson came through late to finish with nine points and seven rebounds. Kensmil added eight rebounds.
SFA was 23 of 50 from the field, but 1 of 9 on 3-pointers. A strong defense helped win the game for the Lumberjacks. Sam Houston had 18 turnovers.
“Of all the wins we’ve had here the last five years, this is really one of the greatest wins our program has had,” Keller said. “It was two great programs that have won a ton and a great testament to our kids and their character because we had nothing to play for.
“We’re going on spring break. It could have been easy to pack it in and not compete.”