Guest abovetherim Posted January 18, 2008 Report Posted January 18, 2008 The Lamar Cardinals ended Sam Houston State's 2007 season earlier than expected with a 99-98 victory in the first round of the Southland Conference tournament. The Bearkats will be out to avenge that loss Saturday when they travel to Beaumont for an important Southland Conference men's basketball contest at 7 p.m. Sam Houston earned their first SLC road victory Thursday, defeating McNeese State 64-49 in Lake Charles. The Kats rallied from 14-2 down to win. Sam Houston held McNeese to 27 percent shooting and forced 24 Cowboy turnovers. The victory put Sam Houston in a tie for first place in the Southland West Division with Stephen F. Austin State. Both own 2-1 league marks. Lamar is 1-1 in Southland Conference action and 7-8 for the season. The Cardinals lost to Stephen F. Austin 81-75 Thursday. Saturday's game will be broadcast live on KSAM Radio and the internet. Sam Houston opened Southland action with a split at Johnson Coliseum. Southeastern Louisiana stopped Sam Houston’s eight-game home winning streak by handing the Bearkats a 61-58 loss in both team’s Southland Conference opener Wednesday night. The Bearkats bounced back to defeat Nicholls State 61-51 Saturday night. Sam Houston stands 13-2 for the season, the Bearkats best start as an NCAA Division I team. Tough Lion defense brought about SHSU’s worst shooting night of the season (18-of-51, .353) and the team’s third lowest scoring output of 2007-08. Sam Houston State, favorites in the West Division of the Southland Conference in the preseason coaches’ poll, have finished as SLC runners-up the past two seasons. The Bearkats posted 20-win records both years. SHSU won the regular season title in both 2000 and 2003. The 2003 team won the Southland post-season tournament to advance to the NCAA. Bouncing back after early league losses is not new to Bob Marlin-coached Bearkat squads. The 2000 SLC championship squad lost to Texas-San Antonio on the road in its first league game, then came back to win 15 of their next 17 on the way to the title. In 2006, Sam Houston lost it first two games to Nicholls and McNeese, then fought back to finish as SLC runner-up, reaching the SLC post-season final. Sam Houston State is led by its seniors this season. Three -- Ryan Bright, Shamir McDaniel, and John Gardiner -- are starters. The fourth, Jeremy Thomas, is a front line reserve guard. Ryan Bright, 6-6 forward, is averaging 11.1 points. He ranks fourth all-time at Sam Houston in career rebounds (792) and is 7 points away from moving into the Top 10 in all-time Bearkat scoring (1,2231 points). The Deer Park product was SLC "Freshman of the Year" in 2005, was All-SLC honorable mention in 2006, and a first team All-SLC selection last year. Bright leads the Southland and ranks 4th nationally in NCAA Division I basketball with 11.6 rebounds per contest. Bright was named SLC "Player of the Week" after pulling down 15 rebounds in a road win at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The kinesiology major who sports a 3.59 overall grade point average is a two-time Academic All-Southland first team selection and was named Southland men’s basketball "Student-Athlete of the Year" in 2007. Shamir McDaniel, 6-1 guard, leads the Bearkats in scoring with 12.8 points per game and ranks third in the Southland Conference in three point shootingThe Converse Judson product was SLC "Player of the Week" after leading the Kats with 18 points in their victory over Texas Tech. McDaniel, who received his bachelor’s degree in marketing in August, is a two-time Academic All-Southland Conference selection with a 3.24 overall grade point average. He came to Sam Houston as a walk-on, but quickly earned a spot in the lineup as a redshirt freshman in 2005. He has played in 106 games, starting 70 times in his four years and is regarded as one of the top defensive players in the SLC. John Gardiner, 6-8 post, is adding 5.1 points and 4.8 rebounds as the Bearkats’ starting post player. Gardiner came to Sam Houston as a transfer from Grayson County Community College. As a junior in 2006, he pulled down 14 rebounds in his first NCAA Division I game, a victory over Missouri. He earned Southland Conference post-season all-tournament honors, helping lead the Bearkats to the 2006 tournament finals at Northwestern State. In August of 2006, however, he injured his knee and was forced to red-shirt in 2007. His inside prescence was been an important factor in the Bearkats’ non-conference success this season. Gardiner is from Mesopotamia on the island of Saint Vincent. Gardiner received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in August. Jeremy Thomas, 6-0 guard, is averaing 6.6 points per game coming off the bench for the Bearkats. A solid player each of the four seasons and a team leader, Thomas is an Academic All-Southland selection with a 3.49 overall grade point average majoring in health. Thomas hit two free throws in the final seconds of overtime in Sam Houston’s 60-58 victory over Central Florida in the Kats’ final non-conference contest this year. He has appeared in 98 contest during his Sam Houston career. DeLuis Ramirez, 6-4 guard, a transfer from Odessa College, has stepped in as a starter and is averaging 10.3 points per contest. He has scored in double figures in six games and ranks No. 7 in the Southland Conference in field goal percentage (53-of-97, .546). Ramirez was a two-year starter at Odessa, averaging 11.1 points. He was all-state for Northwestern Christian High School in Miami, FL, where he averaged 19.9 points. Ashton Mitchell, 5-11 guard, has started nine games at point guard. He ranks No. 8 in the Southland in assists (3.6) and is scoring 5.2 points per game. The New Orleans, LA, sophomore played for Westwood High School in Austin his senior year after Hurricane Katrina forced his family to evacuate. The family now has returned to New Orleans. Sam Houston State's next home game is Thursday, Jan. 24, when the Bearkats play host to Stephen F. Austin State. Tickets for the SHSU-SFA clash on are sale now. http://www.gobearkats.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=19900&ATCLID=1365123
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