Sam Houston stays unbeaten in 18-6A
Just as another challenger rose to loosen Sam Houston’s recent grip on HISD basketball, the Tigers proved why they’ve been atop the perch.
They held off Westside for a 63-51 win Thursday night at The Pavilion, moving into sole possesion of first place in District 18-6A.
TCU commitment Kendric Davis had 18 points for Sam Houston, while Marlon Jackson and Wayne Hampton added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Westside’s Abdul Alatishe had a game-high 25 points. Ademola Kolawole added 11.
This was a matchup of ranked teams in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll — Sam Houston (19-3, 6-0 in 18-6A play) being No. 12, with Westside not far behind at No. 17.
It was a chance to make the district race a little more interesting at the top as January winds down. Sam Houston has won the district the last three years, with a state tournament trip in 2016 sandwiched between all of that.
“When you’ve won as many games as we have here the last four years, everybody’s gunning for you,” Sam Houston coach Ralph Barreras said. “We’re used to playing with a bull’s-eye. Our kids are used to it. We expect to win. We expect to play in big games. That’s what our schedule is designed for. We thrive on that.”
Sam Houston used its well-known full-court press for an early secondquarter spurt in Thursday’s win, opening the period with a 13-2 run to take a 26-17 lead after trailing 15-13 at the end of the first.
That run was accentuated by T.J. Mingo’s consecutive 3-pointers for a 21-17 lead. A Westside turnover turned into Hampton’s layup with a foul and free throw added.
The Tigers took a 3424 lead into halftime and started the third quarter with a bang by way of Davis’ alley-oop to Jackson for the slam.
The lead grew to 17 later that period with Hampton’s 3-pointer at the 2:41 mark, and the Tigers never really looked back.
It’s only a blemish on an otherwise stellar season for Westside (20-4, 5-1), which made the playoffs last year with an arearound berth.
Westside coach Deon Williams said the Wolves knew this current stretch of district play would be a test.
His team has another tough test looming against Bellaire.
“Sam Houston, we knew they were going to be tough coming in,” Williams said. “That’s a very aggressive, very athletic, very talented team, and they’ve been together for some years now. We knew the chemistry and overall ability to score and defend was going to be tough to overcome.”