Texas State men’s basketball (11-13, 4-7 Sun Belt) failed to avenge its loss earlier in the season as it fell to Louisiana (19-4, 9-2 Sun Belt) once again on Thursday, Feb. 2, by a score of 82-63.
The loss marked the Bobcat’s first defeat in the month of February since Feb. 8, 2020. Meanwhile, Louisiana has now won nine games in a row; two of which came against Texas State. 
Junior forward Nate Martin came out the gates on fire for the Bobcats as he scored the team’s first six points, including two second-chance putback shots.
A three from Louisiana senior guard Greg Williams Jr. knotted the game up early at 6-6, and more sweet shooting from the Ragin’ Cajuns helped them take a 19-13 lead with 11:59 to play in the half.
An and-1 driving floater from Texas State junior guard Davion Coleman helped close the gap at 19-16, but Louisiana pulled away once again.
The Ragin’ Cajuns went on a 17-8 run that allowed its lead to balloon all the way to 12 points with 3:31 left in the half.
A pair of tough baskets in the restricted area from graduate forward Nighael Ceaser sparked an 8-0 run for the Bobcats, closing the gap to four points at 36-32. Each team would score another basket before taking the four-point game into half-time.
It was clear that shooting was the difference thus far in the game. Louisiana was on point from behind the arc, connecting on five of eight first-half attempts. Meanwhile, Texas State had missed all three of their first-half triples.
Senior guard Drue Drinnon knocked down the Bobcats’ first and only 3-pointer of the game at the 17:37 mark in the second half, bringing the score to 43-39.
Seconds later, a physical finish from Ceaser cut the lead to just three at 44-41, but that’s as close as Texas State got. 
The Ragin’ Cajuns followed Ceaser’s basket with a 10-2 run that gave them an 11-point lead.
Texas State only managed to score four points in the final seven minutes of the game, allowing the Ragin’ Cajuns to pad its lead.
After the game, coach Terrence Johnson expressed his disappointment, but knows his team must move on quickly.
“A tough game for us tonight,” Johnson said. “I think we’re a better defensive team than we showed tonight, and we are certainly going to have to be moving forward. We have to put this game to bed and get ready for a really good Troy team. There are no nights off in conference play.”
The Bobcats will now travel to Troy where the team will try to avoid going 0-3 on its three-game road trip.
Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4 at Trojan Arena in Troy, Alabama.