Sam Houston knocks off Utah 65-55, 2nd P5 win for Bearkats

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Qua Grant scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half and Sam Houston State picked up its second win over a Power 5 opponent, leading Utah virtually wire-to-wire in a 65-55 win on Thursday night.

The Bearkats (4-0) beat Oklahoma 52-51 in their opener, their first win over a Power 5 program since 2009.

Gabe Madsen’s 3-pointer gave Utah a 3-2 lead but Done Powers hit back-to-back jumpers and Tristan Ikpe nailed a 3-pointer and Sam Houston never trailed again. Jaden Ray and Cameron Huefner hit 3s and Grant had a layup and it was 21-8 in the middle of the first half.

Sam Houston led 27-23 at the half and Utah got as close as one midway through but could never claim the lead.

The Bearkats, who entered the game shooting 50% from the foul line, went 12 of 14 in the second half, including 5 of 6 in the final 67 seconds.

When Lazar Stefanovic hit a jumper with 4:27 to play, Utah was within 53-51 but Grant scored the next 10 Sam Houston points and the lead was 63-53 with less than a minute to go.

The Bearkats only shot 39% but put up 16 more shots thanks to a 41-31 rebounding advantage and 16 Utah turnovers. No other player hit double figures.

Rollie Worster led Utah (3-1) with 14 points and Stefanovic had 12. The Utes shot 43.5% with two more 3-pointers but were just 8 of 16 from the line.

This game was a campus game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off. The Utes face Georgia Tech ion Monday and Sam Houston faces Northern Illinois on Tuesday n Fort Myers, Flordia.

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