With a dominating win over Southland Conference opponent Texas
A&M – Corpus Christi on Saturday night, the Sam Houston
State Bearkats are off to a hot 6-0 start in conference play. This
is the first time in 23 years they have been undefeated in their
first six league games. Oh and did we mention the average margin of
victory over league opponents this season is 15 points? Needless to
say, remaining conference opponents have their hands full.
Boasting a 14-5 overall record, the success of the Sam
Houston State’s season extends beyond conference play.
Impressive victories over Auburn, Oral Roberts, Rider and Florida
International more than substantiate this claim. Defeating Rider
and ORU earned them the Mayan Division championship at Cancun
Challenge in Mexico. In addition, the notable 107-89 win at Auburn
was the first victory over a Southeastern Conference opponent in
the program’s history. Under Coach Bobby Marlin, reaching
such milestones has not been uncommon.
Since taking over the program, Marlin has transcended
expectations and brought once unbeknownst Sam Houston State into
the national spotlight. Heading into the 2009-2010 season the Kats
have won more non conference intersectional games than any other
SLC team under Marlin’s 11 year tenure. Their record included
a staggering 44 consecutive non-conference home win streak, which
is second only to Duke (58). Despite ending that streak this
season, the Kats still can be viewed as a dominate force in Texas
as the UT Longhorns have been the only program in the state able
win more games this decade. Not surprisingly, Athletic Director
Bobby Williams sung praises of coach Marlin saying, "He's put us on
a basketball map, so to speak, where we had not been".
Their impressive pedigree extends even further when examining
conference play. No team in the Southland Conference has won more
games in the past 11 seasons than the Bearkats. Considering their
best 6th place conference finish in the 1990’s, that is quite
an accomplishment. I guess one could say “Don’t Mess
with Texas” has been replaced by “Don’t Mess with
Bearkats” as far as the Southland Conference is concerned.
Strong individual efforts have largely contributed to the
success of the Kats this season. Guard Corey Allmond (16.6
points/game) and center Gilberto Clavell (15.5 points/game) are
among the top 6 league leaders in scoring during league play. No
other program in the conference has multiple players in the top 6
scorers. Not far behind is Senior guard Ashton Mitchell who also
ranks amongst the SLC top ten scorers averaging 15 points a league
game. Between the dynamic backcourt duo of Allmond and Mitchell,
they have averaged 27.6 points a game this season. Both players
have proven consistent considering last year they finished the
season averaging 27.8 points per game together. No other pair of
guards has been able to score more than Allmond and Mitchell in Sam
Houston State’s 23 years at the division one level. It is no
surprise their scoring offense tops the league this season by a
margin of 5 points a game.
The sharpest arrow in the Kats quiver proves to be the three
ball. Draining 7.6 three point shots a game in conference play
proves to be good enough for tops in the league. Allmond leads all
SLC players (3.1/game) in three point field goals per game. With
Allmond on the perimeter and Clavell down low, the Bearkats have a
dynamic offense with the ability to score from all areas of the
court. Just ask Lamar who the Kats just recently beat 90-63 how
frustrating a multidimensional attack can be.
Other notable offensive contributors are forwards Preston
Green who is averaging 9.1 points and 4.2 rebounds and Josten Crow
contributing a respectable 7.1 points per game with 5.6 rebounds.
Despite the attention garnished by Allmond, Clavell, and Mitchell,
the Bearkats reveal that their winning record is truly a team
effort.
One must look beyond the Kats ability to put the ball in the
net to account for their success this season. Rebounding has been a
large part of their winning formula as they rank first in the SLC
in offensive boards. Overall, they rank second in rebounds in the
league which makes their offensive juggernaut only more frustrating
for opponents. Center Gilberto Clavell has proven to be a dual
threat as he leads the team with 6.5 rebounds a game. Prior to this
season, Gilberto had been at Collin County Junior College where he
transferred from. To say the Puerto Rican product has made a
positive impact under the mentoring of Coach Bobby Marlin would be
an understatement. The good news for the program is that he is only
a junior. Southland conference opponents are not quite as amused by
this fact.
Possibly even more integral to this season’s success
has been the Kats knack for taking care of the ball and creating
turnovers. Ranking first in the conference in turnover margin
reflects the Kats potent ability to create takeaways defensively.
Their impressive 8.2 steals a game backs this up. This is roughly 3
more steals a game than opponents have been able to achieve
demonstrating not only stellar defensive play, but also smart
decision making offensively. It certainly helps your cause when you
have a mature, senior backcourt. Did we mention that combo drops
nearly thirty a game?
As for the future, the Kats have a difficult league schedule
on the horizon. However, their strong play in both non-conference
and conference games have made the statement that they are the team
to beat. After the completion of the regular season schedule, the
top two teams from both SLC divisions, plus the next four remaining
teams with the best records will advance to the Merrill Center in
Katy for the annual post-season SLC tournament to decide the
Southland's NCAA playoff representative. Under Coach Marlin, Sam
Houston State has already captured two Southland Conference titles.
This year they plan to make it a third.
All the action begins on Wednesday March 10 with four
quarter-final games. Semi-final contest will be played Thursday
night March 11th followed by the finals which will be televised
live on ESPN2 on Saturday March 13th. With a NCAA tournament berth
on the line, the Bearkats and Coach Bobby Marlin will hope to
vindicate their runner up finish last season.
