Texas State men’s basketball (9-4 overall, 0-1 Sun Belt) lost its conference opener to the Troy Trojans (10-4 overall, 1-0 Sun Belt) 78-63 Thursday evening.
The Bobcats were shorthanded due to COVID-19 protocols which resulted in starters playing hefty minutes. Senior guard Caleb Asberry (14 PTS, 5-16 FGS, 2-2 FT, 6 AST, 6 REB, 4 STL) did not sub out of the game and sophomore guard Dylan Dawson (8 PTS, 3-8 FGS, 2-5 3PTS, 1 REB) played 39 minutes due to the absence of key playmaking senior guard Mason Harrell. The ‘Cats were without five of its players.
“Earlier in the week we knew a few guys were going to miss this game and then we found out today that we’d have two more missing,” Head Coach Terrance Johnson said. “We found out around 30 minutes before shootaround. Caleb and Dylan gave a heck of an effort with the absence of some of our players. When you have an opportunity to compete, you’ve got to take full advantage of that. Those guys did that, so I appreciate their effort.”
Asberry scored the game’s first bucket with a three-pointer after a missed layup by junior forward Efe Odigie. Both teams went on to trade buckets until the Trojans swung momentum onto their side, going on a 13-3 run with 8:18 remaining in the half and never looked back.
The Trojans came out in a full-court press early in the ball game and ran zone defense for the majority of the game.
“You’ve got to give them credit for having a game plan and executing it,” Johnson said. “Their defense gave us trouble trying to get in an offensive flow. In the second half, I think we got a better feel of what [Troy was] trying to do and got in a better offensive rhythm. It was one of those games we wished we could have gotten a few more stops.”
A three-pointer by Dawson followed by a fastbreak layup by senior forward Isiah Small cut the deficit to three, giving Troy a 20-17 lead. This was the closest the Bobcats managed to get for the remainder of the game. Troy closed the half on a 13-7 run.
Texas State pulled within seven twice during the second half but wasn’t able to complete the comeback.
Small (17 PTS, 7-16 FGS, 2-2 FT, 8 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL) led all ‘Cats in scoring and rebounding. Senior forward Nighael Ceaser (6-9 FGS, 4-4 FT) followed with 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Odigie (10-14 FGS, 2-2 FT) led all scorers with 22 points. The 6-foot-9 forward also recorded six rebounds, three assists and a block.
Next up, Texas State will host South Alabama on Jan. 1 at 4 p.m. at Strahan Arena. The game will air on ESPN+.