Follow @HBUBasketball

HOUSTON – Visiting Sam Houston built a big lead early thanks to a hot stretch shooting the ball when HBU went cold and held off the Huskies the rest of the way to an 83-70 final on Monday evening inside Sharp Gym.
 
Junior Darius Lee led all players with 24 points and just missed out on a double-double, grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Lee was 9-of-18 from the floor and 6-of-12 from the foul line while also blocking a pair of shots. Freshman Za-Ontay Boothman also had a big night offensively, adding 20 points off the bench and burying 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. It was Boothman's highest point total since he scored 22 against Abilene Christian on Jan. 6.
 
After a quick 2-1 lead for the Huskies (4-17, 3-10 SLC) the Bearkats (18-5, 12-2 SLC) went on a stretch where they shot 12-of-15 from the floor while HBU shot 2-of-11 and SHSU held a 28-6 lead halfway through the first period. Sam Houston led by as many as 23 in the first half but the Huskies chipped away. A Tristan Ikpe layup brought the score to 39-21 with just under three minutes left before a 9-2 HBU run cut it to 11 and a buzzer-beating Demarkus Lampley sent the teams into the locker rooms with SHSU ahead 44-30.
 
The Bearkats against started fast in the second half, out-scoring HBU 15-2 in a little over four minutes to lead 59-32. The Huskies again started chipping away but SHSU managed to come up with answers to each HBU push. The Bearkats led by 21 with 5:28 left to play with the Huskies cutting into that lead the rest of the way but unable to get closer than the final 13-point difference.
 
The Huskies shot 40.4 percent from the floor (23-of-57) to the Bearkats' 48.5 percent (33-of-68). HBU got to the line 26 times, knocking down 20, and shot just 19 percent (4-of-21) from three. SHSU held a 38-36 advantage on the boards and committed 12 turnovers to the Huskies' 14.
 
HBU remains at home this Wednesday, Mar. 3, to host the UIW Cardinals in Sharp Gym at 7:00 p.m.