The Texas State men’s basketball team picked up two crucial victories this weekend, defeating the University of Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday and Louisiana- Lafayette on Saturday to sweep the weekend and continue their four-game winning streak.
After starting 1-4 in conference, the Bobcats have managed to bounce back and are currently tied for third in the Sun Belt, sitting at a winning 5-4 record in conference and 12-8 overall.
Continuing their streak, the ‘Cats defeated Louisiana 68-59 Saturday night at the Cajundome for their first-ever win in Lafayette.
Texas State played strong in the first half, going into the locker room with a 37-28 lead, but the Ragin’ Cajuns went on an 8-0 run to start the half and cut the lead to one. Sophomore guard Mason Harrell ended the run with a three, which gave the Bobcats a run of their own. The ‘Cats led by as much as 17 and were able to close out with another win.
Senior guard Nijal Pearson led the team with 18 points, while Harrell and junior forward Isiah Small followed suit, scoring in the double digits with 12 points each. Small also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
After months of countdowns, Nijal Pearson led the team in points both games and surpassed Charles Sharp’s (1956-60) record of 1,884 points to become Texas State’s all-time leading scorer against ULM on Thursday.
Pearson led the highly-contested battle with a 64-63 victory Thursday night at the Fans-Ewing Coliseum, grabbing a rebound for a fast break layup at the 2:43 mark in the first half to break the record. Pearson went on to finish with 23 points on 7-of-15 from the field.
The Warhawks went on an 7-0 run to close out the half and hold a 33-25 lead, keeping the lead until a surge by the Bobcats at the 6:39 mark in the second half. The game went back and forth until a clutch three-pointer from Pearson tied the game 63-63 with a minute left. The Bobcats then came up with a steal on the following possession, allowing Pearson to step up once again and knock a free throw down to give Texas State the lead with 10 seconds remaining. Despite a last-second shot by ULM at the buzzer, a review decided that the ball wasn’t released in time and the ‘Cats took home the win.
Texas State returns to Strahan Coliseum for a three-game homestand starting with in-state rival UTA Saturday at 4 p.m. The last meeting between these teams in San Marcos saw a record-setting crowd and double overtime game resulting in a Texas State loss.