MOSS BLUFF – After falling behind by 13 points early in the second half, Sam Houston got more aggressive on defense to dig out of the hole and beat Hamilton Christian 72-64.

“The biggest thing in the third quarter was just bringing the intensity on defense,” Sam Houston head coach Jayce Hebert said. “I think we kind of slacked off in that first half, early on in that first quarter.

“We got down big, but I told the guys just keep fighting, keep getting after it. We had some mental mistakes on the defensive end with guys not doing their jobs. Once they realized what they were supposed to do, it helped us to really turn them over and get some easy baskets to get us back into it.”

Hamilton Christian shot lights out for three quarters, making 61.1 percent of their shots, and led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter. They kept it going early in the third quarter, but eventually, the Broncos’ defense started to wear on them. The Warriors shot just 30.4 percent in the fourth quarter.

“That was part of us not getting hands up on the shots and all that, giving them open looks,” Hebert said. “But they did shoot it very well.”

With the defense calming the Warriors hot shooting down, the Broncos regained the offensive rhythm they started the game with when they took an 11-4 lead. They started a 15-4 run midway through the third quarter that helped them erase a 13-point deficit. Drew Dronet’s third 3-pointer of the game brought the Broncos within two points with 1:30 left in the third quarter. Carter Malveaux scored the next six points on two free throws and two buckets in the paint, one off a turnover, to give the Broncos their first lead, 48-46, since the first quarter.

Thatcher Guidroz led four Broncos in double-figures with 21 points, Drew Dronet, Carter Malveaux and Derick Malveaux had 14 points each.

“Too many times we’ll run the offense and we’ll get exactly what we want, and then they get out of it and just kind of do their own thing,” Hebert said. “And it’s just learning to stick with that, trust the offense, and just find the things that are working in that moment, and make the right decisions.

“When we actually stuck with it, the first quarter, we went on an 11 to 4 run to start the game. They’re executing the offense, then we got away from it, started doing a little too much. And then third quarter, we got back into it and started executing, and it really paid off for us.”

Tied 59-59 with 2:50 left in the game, Sam Houston went on a 10-2 run to take its biggest lead of the game on a pair of free throws by Collin Melendy.

It was the second time in as many days that the Broncos (9-9) beat a top 5 team. They beat Class C No. 5 Reeves on Thursday 88-65. Hamilton Christian (8-4) is ranked No. 5 in the Select Division IV power rankings.

“That’s two big wins for us,” Hebert said.

The loss spoiled a triple-double for Hamilton Christian sophomore Javon Vital. He finished with 13 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds. Seth Ned led the Warriors with 21 points, and Justin Weston added 12 points.

Vital assisted on three consecutive baskets to help the Warriors break out an early deficit in the first quarter, including Ned’s 3-pointer that tied the game at 11-11. Vital expert passes helped start a 13-0 run, and his jumper with 2:10 left in the first quarter put the Warriors up 17-11.