Associated Press
Staff Reporter
Katy — Gilberto Clavell scored 21 points to lead Sam Houston State to an easy 64-48 win over Stephen F. Austin for the Southland Conference tournament championship Saturday.
The win gives top-seeded Sam Houston State (25-7) its second NCAA tournament berth and the first since 2003.
The Bearkats never trailed in this one after taking advantage of poor first-half shooting by Stephen F. Austin to build a big lead. The Lumberjacks never got back within single digits.
Jereal Scott had 13 points for Stephen F. Austin (23-9), which won the tournament last year.
The Bearkats also beat Stephen F. Austin the last time they won the tournament, but they needed overtime to get the 69-66 win seven years ago.
Corey Allmond added 19 points and Ashton Mitchell had 13 points and six assists for Sam Houston.
The Lumberjacks shot just 31 percent to the almost 47 percent shooting by the Bearkats.
Stephen F. Austin used a 9-2 run, aided by its full-court press, to cut the lead to 44-32 with about 13 minutes left. But Sam Houston outscored the Lumberjacks 10-4 to regain a comfortable advantage.
A 10-4 run by Sam Houston, capped by a dunk by Clavell, pushed its lead to 23-11 midway through the first half. The Lumberjacks made a free throw after that before the Bearkats scored eight straight points to extend the lead to 31-12 about five minutes before halftime.
