Sam Houston State Bearkats-Texas Longhorns: Game Review

With 18:17 left on the clock in the first half, Josten Crow hit a layup to tie the score at two points a piece. Unfortunately for the Bearkats, that may have been the high point of the game.

The Bearkats were soundly beaten on Tuesday night by the Texas Longhorns.

The tone was set early when both teams were playing sound, aggressive defense that caused several turnovers.

The Bearkats never could capitalize on the turnovers created because they were simply out-muscled and out-manned in every facet.

Drae Murray wanted to push tempo, but Texas point guard Dogus Balbay wasn't allowing it as his half court press on Drae kept him from being able to get inside the three-point line.

When the Bearkats were able to get into their offense, they were getting some open shots. The ball pressure the Longhorns were getting kept many possessions from ending in a shot, and the Bearkats turned the ball over a dozen times.

When the shots went up for the Bearkats, the size and strength of the post players for Texas made sure there were no second chance opportunities.

On the other end, the Longhorns were doing everything they could to hand the game over. Late in the first half, the Longhorns had made 15 of their 17 field goal attempts.

The Longhorns were highly efficient from the field, but were turning the ball over way too much. Many of the turnovers were "unforced errors" where guys simply threw the ball away or had the ball tip off their fingers.

Proving that it was a tale of two halves for the Longhorns, they ran way with the game in the second half. After only putting up 33 points in the first half, Texas scored 51 in the second.

The Longhorns did not have a single turnover in the second half.

It was no surprise that Jordan Hamilton was the best player on the floor. He led the team with 25 points, shot 75 percent from the field, went two for two from the three-point line, and added nine rebounds.

He really showed why he is a big NBA prospect. He scored from inside, outside, in transition, and in the half court. It was an effortless game for Hamilton.

Beyond the stat line, Dogus Balbay may have been the player of the game for Texas. He had a career high 14 points, but it was his tenacious defense that played the biggest part on this night. His physical brand of ball pressure kept the Bearkats from ever being comfortable running their offense.

Point guards Drae Murray and Marcus Williams combined to make three of their 11 shots taken.

Gilberto Clavell had 15 points for Sam Houston, but it would be a safe bet that they were the most difficult 15 points he has ever scored. He made only six of his 22 shots on the night.

The best performer for the Bearkats was Antuan Bootle. He led the Bearkats with 16 points and nine rebounds. He scored ten of his points in the second half.

As a team, the Bearkats shot 29.2 percent from the field and went one for 10 from the three-point line. The Bearkats struggled to get out and move the ball in transition, and when that happens, the offense tends to get stagnant. When the Longhorns were really clicking in the second half, there was very little movement without the ball on offense. 

The effort was there for the Bearkats. Never for a minute did I think they had quit. They were just out-manned. When Texas was really playing well and hitting their stride, the Bearkats were powerless to stop them.

All one needed to do was compare the two halves to get a good feel for the game. In the first half, the Longhorns played as sloppily as you can play and the Bearkats could only stay within 15 points. In the second half, Texas turned it on and ran laps around the Bearkats.

Fox Sports Net's play by play announcer Kevin Eschenfelder probably said it best: "Sam Houston will make some noise this year, but tonight they just ran into a bigger, more talented team."

The Bearkats will have to pick themselves up off the mat quickly. They have time to head home to enjoy Thanksgiving, but then they are back out on the road in Fort Collins, Colorado for a game against Colorado State on Saturday night.