Sam Houston St. beats TAMU-CC, advances to Southland finale

KATY, Texas (AP) Jabari Peters scored 19, including a decisive 3-pointer with 1:20 to play, and grabbed nine rebounds to help No. 2 seed Sam Houston State beat third-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 70-67 in the Southland Conference semifinals on Friday night.

Michael Holyfield had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Dakarai Henderson scored 11 for Sam Houston State (25-7), which will play top-seeded Stephen F. Austin in the finals Saturday.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (19-13) led by as many as 10 in the second half and a 3-pointer by John Jordan gave the Islanders a 60-52 advantage with 7:48 remaining.

A 7-0 run by the Bearkats pulled them within one about three minutes later and another seven-straight points, capped by Peters' 3 with 80 seconds to go, gave Sam Houston State its first lead, 68-65, of the second half.

A dunk by Jordan pulled TAMU-CC within one with four seconds to go, but Kaheem Ransom hit two free throws to make it 70-67 before Jordan's last-second 3 missed the mark as time expired.

Jordan, the only active player in Division I with at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists, led the Islanders with 20, five and five.