Texas State men’s basketball (14-6 overall, 5-3 Sun Belt) escaped with a 68-66 nail-biter win over the Appalachian State Mountaineers (14-10 overall, 8-3 Sun Belt) Thursday afternoon.
Appalachian State, who currently leads the Sun Belt Conference, had an opportunity to either tie the game or take a one-point lead with under 12 seconds remaining after senior guard Caleb Asberry fouled senior guard Justin Forrest on a three-pointer. Forrest failed to cash in any free throws and the Bobcats held on to win by two.
Asberry was the Bobcats’ leading scorer, finishing with 16 points on 5-13 shooting from the field and 3-6 from behind the arc. The 6-foot-3 guard also recorded five rebounds, one assist and cashed in all of his free throws (3-3). Senior guard Shelby Adams added 11 points, six rebounds and a steal while sophomore forward Nate Martin followed with nine points.
Asberry had a hot hand to start the first half, draining all three of his three-pointers but the game remained fairly tight up until the 08:36 minute mark when the ‘Cats carved their largest lead of the game so far at 12. Senior forward James Lewis Jr. ended the Mountaineers’ drought with a fast-break layup to make the score 28-18 with 08:09 remaining in the half.
The ‘Cats closed out the rest of the first half with a 41-29 lead, outscoring the Mountaineers 13-11 and led by 17, Texas State’s largest lead of the game.
Texas State scored the first points of the second half courtesy of a layup by senior guard Mason Harrell. Baskets were traded between both teams until the 08:00 mark when the Bobcats began to struggle offensively. The Mountaineers capitalized by going on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 60 with just under 05:40 left to play.
Sophomore guard Dylan Dawson answered with a mid-range jumper to end the ‘Cats cold streak and to retake the lead. A pair of made free throws by senior guard Adrian Delph tied the game back up but Harrell quickly responded with a mid-range jumper of his own to give Texas State a 64-62 lead. Senior forward Nighael Ceasar’s layup with under four minutes to play was the last basket made by Texas State but gave it a five-point lead that Appalachian State was unable to overcome.
Delph (22 PTS, 6-17 FGS, 5-9 3PTS, 5-6 FTS, 5 REB, 3 AST) had a game-high in points. Junior forward Donovan Gregory followed with 17 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Next up, the Bobcats will host Coastal Carolina at 5 p.m. on Feb. 5 at Strahan Arena. The game will air on ESPN+.