Kaheem Ransom scored 19 points as the Sam Houston State Bearkats defeated the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, 70-61, in the Southland Conference quarterfinals at the Leonard E. Merrell Center.
Jabari Peters added 17 points and Terrance Motley had 10 for the third-seeded Bearkats (22-9), who will match up against second-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday.
Korey Billbury finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Shawn Glover netted 14 points for the Golden Eagles (17-16).
Sam Houston State drained 61.9 percent of its shots from the field in the opening half, including 6-of-7 from 3-point range, as it led 33-26 at the break. Oral Roberts made 45.5 percent of its field goal attempts in the period.
The Bearkats connected on 44.4 percent of their shots from the floor in the second period and went 18-of-22 at the free-throw line. The Golden Eagles converted on 45.2 percent of their field goal tries and took 13 more shots. Oral Roberts cut the lead to three with 16:42 remaining, but the Bearkats went on a 7-0 run to make it a 10-point advantage and from there SHSU remained in control.
The Bearkats had just five offensive rebounds on the night, but made up for that with a 19-9 scoring advantage at the free-throw line.
[SportsNetwork.com]
