HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- Brandon Graham had 13 points and DeMarcus Robinson added 11, but the Hornets could not overcome the hot shooting Bearkats in falling 71-49 to Sam Houston State."They are a very good ball club, they won 23 games this season," Head Coach Lewis Jackson said. "They were 13-1 at home and I thought we did a great job in the first half holding them to 28 points and we just couldn't make shots."
"Fatigue just caught up with us and in the second half we just got tired. They were able to get out and get some layups on us, but it has been a long year and we had a long travel day trying to get here last night, getting here early this morning, but you have to give them credit. They shot it well in the second half and we continue to struggle shooting the ball and making good decisions on offense."
ASU struggled shooting from the field only hitting 26 percent of their shots. The Hornets top scorer Jamel Waters was held to three points, but did finish tied for game-high honors with six assists and two steals.
Maurice Strong was plagued by foul trouble, especially in the first half when he sat for most of the opening 20 minutes with two fouls. He scored all seven of his points in the second half and finished with Graham for team-high honors in rebounds with eight.
SHSU had four players finish in double figures led by Dararai Henderson's 14. James Thomas scored 13 and Aurimas Majauskas 11 and Paul Baxter 10.
The hosts' were able to build a 28-20 halftime lead as the Hornets were able to only shoot 24 percent (7-29) from the field and only two of 11 from beyond the three point line. Graham led ASU with seven first-half points and Armstrong added six before picking up his second foul.
SHSU hit 10 of their 28 (36%) field goal attempts. They hit three of their 10 three point attempts, and hit five of nine from the free throw line. Thomas and Henderson had seven points each to lead the Bearkats.
SHSU also kept ASU off the boards by out rebounding ASU 28-14.
The Hornets finish the season 19-13 overall and have all their players returning next season.
"It's been a long year, but it's been a good year," Jackson said. "We just have to continue to work these guys and get better. Overall it has been a great experience for us to be able to get in some post season play and being the first team in our conference to get an invite after finishing second in our league. It was real good for us and it shows how much work these young men have put in to win 19 games."
"It is just a good experience and we have all these young men coming back and we look forward to working with them."
COURTESY ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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