Texas State (15-10, 8-6 in Sun Belt) split a road trip out east this week, winning against Coastal Carolina in dominating fashion but falling short against Appalachian State (14-11, 8-6 Sun Belt) in a 60-57 heartbreaker on Saturday.
The Bobcats were without their leading scorer, senior guard Nijal Pearson, but still managed to compete and put together a strong first half. Texas State was up by as much as 18 points with three minutes left before Appalachian State went on a 13-0 run to narrow the lead to five before the break.
The second half, however, was tightly contested. Texas State held the lead for most of the half before slipping late in the period, allowing App State to close out the game on a 12-2 run capped off by a three-pointer with 18 seconds left to take the lead.
Texas State shot better from the floor than the Mountaineers but managed to only shoot two free-throws the entire game, going 1-2 while Appalachian State made 13-21 free-throws. Sophomore guards Mason Harrell and Caleb Asberry both pitched in 11 points and junior guard Marlin Davis had a season-high 11 assists, but it wasn’t enough as three Mountaineers scored in double-digits to lift Appalachian State over the Bobcats.
The Bobcats are coming back to San Marcos for their next game at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13 against the conference-leading Little Rock Trojans.