Texas State basketball moved to 2-0 in the four-game Southwestern Showdown series with a gritty 64-57 win at the University of Nevada- Las Vegas Wednesday night.
The win moved their record to 4-2 on the season.
Texas State’s swarming defense made the difference in the night, holding the Runnin’ Rebels to a 34.7% field goal percentage and racking up eight blocks and eight steals. The Bobcat defense came out aggressively from the tip, but the offense lacked some intensity as the ‘Cats fell 26-16 towards the end of the first half. The Bobcats came back, however, going on a 12-2 run and tying the game 28-28 to end the half.
The Rebels attempted to hold the lead once again, but Texas State controlled the second half. After being down 43-44 midway through the half, the Bobcats went on a 9-0 run to hold the lead and finish the game with a 64-57 victory.
Senior guard Nijal Pearson continued to lead the team offensively with two season highs, scoring 25 points and pulling down 10 boards. Pearson also went 8-9 from the foul line. Redshirt junior Marlin Davis also struck a record, tying his career high with seven assists.
The game came after a dominant performance over Jackson State at home on Monday.
After being tied 23-23 midway through the first half, the Texas State Bobcats flipped the switch for a 73-58 victory.
Junior forward Isiah Small had a career night, shooting 6-7 from the field and 3-3 from deep for a total of 20 points. Small came in hot with 18 points in the first half and sliced through his previous season high of nine points against Prairie View A&M.
Following Small in scoring, sophomore guard Mason Harrell and Pearson each chipped in 13 points to help lead the team.
A strong Bobcat defense also kept Jackson State’s star player Tristan Jarrett at bay, holding Jarrett to 18 points on 22 attempted shots.
Head Coach Danny Kaspar allowed depth of play on the night, giving the entire bench significant playing time and seeing eight athletes play in the double digits.
The ‘Cats will take the Southwestern Showdown back home with a matchup against NCAA qualifiers Abilene Christian on Monday at 7 p.m.