Texas State men’s basketball (7-2) dominated the Southwestern Pirates (3-6) 101-54 Sunday afternoon to win its sixth game in a row.
The Bobcats controlled the game from start to finish, scoring 50 points in the paint along with 43 points off the bench. Texas State ended the game with 38 rebounds, 26 assists and eight turnovers. The ‘Cats defense let up three assists and held the Pirates to 37.3% from the field (19-51) and 23.5% from behind the arc (4-17).
Three Bobcats scored double-figure points. Senior forward Isiah Small (21 PTS, 7-10 FGS, 6-7 FT, 7 REB, 3 AST, 1 BLK) led the ‘Cats in scoring and rebounding. Senior guard Caleb Asberry (20 PTS, 8-13 FGS, 4-8 3PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLK) followed and led the Bobcats in blocks and three-point field goals. Senior forward Nighael Ceaser finished with 13 points on 6-9 shooting from the field, six rebounds and a steal.
Junior guard Preston Hannah was Southwestern’s leading scorer, finishing with 18 points, three rebounds and a steal. Hannah shot 8-13 from the field and 2-2 from the free-throw line.
Texas State went on an early 7-0 run. Small ignited it with an early dunk to score the game’s first bucket. Asberry followed with a mid-range jumper and a pull-up three-pointer.
After a missed basket from both teams, Small scored another bucket in the paint assisted by Asberry on a fast break at the 18:00 mark. This led to Southwestern’s first timeout of the game.
Hannah scored the Pirates’ first bucket coming out of the timeout. Asberry answered with another shot from three-point range. He was 3-3 from the field three minutes into the game.
The Bobcats’ lead ballooned up to 14 after a steal from senior guard Shelby Adams which led to a dunk. Hannah answered with a mid-range jumper followed by another dunk by Small that gave Texas State an 18-4 lead. Southwestern used another timeout with 15:08 left in the half.
Texas State’s domination of the paint continued with another made dunk on a fast break by Asberry. The ‘Cats were shooting 8-10 from the field at this point, making the most out of its easy buckets.
Off of a missed layup by senior guard Kyle Poerschke, sophomore guard Dylan Dawson drained a three-pointer on a fastbreak to close the half. Texas State went into halftime with a 59-22 lead.
The Bobcats didn’t give up a single assist to the Pirates during the first half. Texas State dunked the ball eight times throughout the first half and the eighth dunk by Adams was on Southwestern’s 1-3-1 zone. The Pirates had no answer for Texas State.
Asberry’s hot hand opened the second half with another jumper from the three-point range assisted by Adams. Sophomore forward Nate Martin added a layup on a fast break to start an early 5-0 run.
Asberry then stole the ball which led to Small getting fouled at the 18:52 mark. Small drained both free throws, pushing the lead to 44.
A three-pointer made by sophomore guard Jacob Hester at the 16:19 mark was the Pirates’ first three of the game. This led to Texas State’s first timeout of the game. Senior guard Chris Smith followed with another three-pointer after a miss from Small.
Asberry then answered with another three-pointer of his own. This was his fourth made three and he had since scored 18 points. 
The Bobcats continued to score easy buckets, capitalizing on good defense and fast breaks.
A three-pointer from junior guard Darien Jenkins earned the Bobcats their 100th point with two minutes remaining in the game. The Bobcats closed the game 101-54.
Texas State moves on to face Lamar at 7 p.m. on Dec. 15 at Strahan Arena. The game will air on ESPN+.