RUSTON, La. — The Bearkats walked out of Thomas Assembly Center as champions of Conference USA on Thursday.
 
Sam Houston went toe to toe with Louisiana Tech for 40 minutes to capture the CUSA regular season championship with a 72-66 victory. The win secures the Kats (19-11, 12-3 CUSA) the No. 1 seed in the league's postseason tournament next week in Huntsville, Alabama.
 
Jaden Ray provided a boost off the bench and finished with a team-high 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Davon Barnes scored 11 points, and Marcus Boykin put up 10. Damon Nicholas Jr. and Kian Scroggins added eight points, and Lamar Wilkerson and Cameron Huefner chipped in seven.
 
Sam Houston had the lead at the break, but Louisiana Tech (21-9, 11-4) opened the second half on a 5-0 run until Souleymane Doumbia stopped the drought when he was fouled shooting under the basket. He made both free throws to make it 37-34.
 
Ray, who had a solid first half, hit his signature floater in the lane on consecutive possessions to give Sam Houston a 41-34 lead. A free throw by the Bulldogs preceded a clutch 3 by Cameron Huefner as the Kats went up nine with 15 minutes left in the game.
 
Marcus Boykin scored five straight points, including a to give Sam Houston its biggest lead to that point at 49-37 midway through the period.
 
Three more key plays allowed the Kats to maintain the pace. Kian Scroggins scored an and-1, and Ray continued his monster game with a 3 from the top of the key.
 
Barnes delivered a staggering blow at the 7:24 mark with another 3 as the Kats tacked on to their lead at 58-43.
 
The Bulldogs stayed on their feet and countered to get as close as 3 down the stretch only to see Sam Houston keep them at bay to secure the program's first conference championship under first-year head coach Chris Mudge.
 
The Bearkats needed a spark early, and Scroggins stepped up to the challenge. He was converted a three-point play to tie the game then knocked down a pair of free throws to give Sam Houston its first lead at 10-8 seven and a half minutes into the game.
 
The Bulldogs would later answer with a 4-0 run to retake the lead, but Doumbia got the Kats rolling again when he threw down a nasty one-handed dunk to knot the game again.
 
Ray and Barnes took over from there.
 
Ray hit a floater in the lane with just over seven and a half minutes to go in the period to retake the lead. Ray came up with a steal and a layup before Barnes drilled back-to-back 3s to push the lead to 26-19.
 
Wilkerson would knock down a 3 with just under two minutes on the clock, and a layup by Barnes sent Sam Houston into the locker room with a 35-27 advantage at the break.
 
The Kats missed some shots they normally make, but they won the battle on the boards in the first half. Sam Houston outrebounded Louisiana Tech 27-16 and 9-2 on the offensive glass.
 
 
NOTES
• The Bearkats led Louisiana Tech 35-27 at the end of the first half. Sam Houston is now 12-4 when leading at the half.
• This is Sam Houston's first conference championship since the Kats won the Southland Conference regular season in 2018-19.
• Sam Houston has now won four conference regular season championships since moving up to the Division I level in 1987-88.
• The Bearkats got revenge on the glass. The Bulldogs won the rebounding battle 43-33 in the first meeting on Jan. 6 in Huntsville. Sam Houston outrebounded Louisiana Tech 42-35 on Thursday.
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