Sam Houston appeared transformed on the court at Wisdom Gym on Saturday night.
The Bearkats showcased cohesion and teamwork as they dominated Tarleton with a 91-62 victory, marking their first win of the season. Junior Dorian Finister led the way with 17 points, closely followed by senior Lamar Wilkerson with 15. Four players scored in double figures, including Kian Scroggins with 14 and Cameron Huefner with 11.
The Bearkats started off sluggishly, similar to their season-opening 91-75 loss at Nevada, where the Wolfpack jumped out to a 15-2 lead. However, this time Sam Houston managed to keep the deficit smaller.
Backup point guard Brennen Burns, who scored seven points, initiated a 4-0 run with a jumper and a pair of free throws to tie the game at 10. Guard Josiah Hammons later converted a three-point play to give Sam Houston its first lead at 13-12 midway through the first half.
Kian Scroggins had a standout first half, scoring 11 points off the bench to lead the Bearkats to a 47-34 halftime lead, with contributions from Marcus Boykin and Burns.
The game quickly got out of hand in the second half as Sam Houston started at a blistering pace, extending their lead to 20 points at 59-39 when Lamar Wilkerson lobbed an alley-oop to Kalifa Sakho for a two-hand dunk. Wilkerson and Dorian Finister hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and the Bearkats ran away with the game, with 11 of the 12 players who saw action getting on the scoreboard.
