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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – No. 2 Sam Houston (22-10, 13-7 CUSA) advances to the semifinal round, defeating No. 10 NM State (16-16, 8-12 CUSA) 69-61 in the quarterfinal round of the 2026 Air National Guard CUSA Championship Wednesday night at Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center.
CUSA Defensive Player of the Year
Kashie Natt showed out for Sam Houston as he paced the offense with 17 points and tied his season-high in rebounds with 16, which he had last time out at Liberty. Nine of his 16 rebounds came on the offensive end.
Veljko Ilic was strong down low for the Bearkats finishing with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Sam Houston is set to face the winner of the WKU and Kennesaw State contest on Friday at 2 p.m. CT on
CBS Sports Network.
Sam Houston Head Coach Chris Mudge
Opening Statement…
“This game looked like the definition of what makes these men great. It was a game of toughness. It was a game of discipline. It was a game of making winning plays, even when things weren't going great, and that's what's made this team great all year. We did it against a really good team today, and that's what you have to do in March, is be able to find ways. We didn't score it great in the second half, but this team is so versatile, and having tough dogs like [Jacobe Coleman & Kashie Natt] and the other guys in the locker room have made it so that we've gotten through a lot of adversity. You’ve got guys go down, we have other guys step up. You got guys that may not have their best game, other guys step up, and we get them back in. We support each other and stay connected. So, obviously, it was a great win, for us, and survive in advance. We get to play the next one.”
On the importance of offensive rebounding in the win…
“One of our superpowers is offensive rebounding, and we've done it all year. It's part of the toughness that makes this team great, and getting 20 of them in a game gave us so many extra possessions and extra shots, especially when things weren't quite falling for us. It’s something we've done really well.
But you do it by having guys that just go chase it, guys that naturally have the ball, guys that are just tough.
winners. And, it was a huge key in the game tonight, and it's been something that we have, really hung our hat on, and something that has won us some games, and it did it again tonight.”
NM State Head Coach Jason Hooten
Opening Statement…
“Tonight, we weren't very good, and I think a lot of the credit has to go to Sam Houston. I thought their defense was really, really good tonight. We just weren't very good. We didn't shoot the ball very well. I believe 3-19 from three. You know, we missed our free throws. We had some opportunities down the stretch there when we cut it to three. I think to get right where we needed to be, but we just had a lot of missed opportunities. And then 14 turnovers is probably the highest we've had over maybe two months. You know, all that combined. I don't know how many games that I've not lost many games in my career where we've held the other team to 33% shooting. Yeah, it's a tough one to swallow. Because all the other, you know, points off turnovers, paint points, second chance points, it was all even. I just thought the biggest difference was, we just didn't execute offensively. And again, you have to give their defense credit.”