Texas State men’s basketball team (11-17, 4-11 Sun Belt Conference) lost its third consecutive game 84-76 at the hands of Georgia Southern University (6-22, 6-9 Sun Belt Conference) Thursday night at the W.S Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Georgia.
Senior guard Dylan Dawson kept the Bobcats in the game with a team-high 15 points. Junior guard Dontae Horn and senior forward Chris Nix both added 12 points.
Early turnovers and poor shooting put the Bobcats down early. After Texas State got within one point at the six-minute mark, Georgia Southern dominated the remainder of the first half. Capitalizing on a late 9-0 run, the Eagles took a 37-28 lead into halftime.
“[We] started out slow, and giving up 56% shooting in the first half is a lack of effort and competitiveness,” Texas State Head Coach Terrence Johnson said.
Starting hot in the second half and assisted by several Bobcat turnovers, the Eagles extended their lead by as much as 12 points.
Numerous Bobcats chipped in buckets with six minutes remaining to cut the deficit to a single point at 60-59. With five minutes remaining in regulation, junior forward Christian Turner gave Texas State its first lead of the game at 64-62 to cap off a 5-0 Bobcat run.
With their first lead and up by four points with 4:31 left, the Bobcats relinquished the momentum, letting the Eagles go on a 9-0 run fueled by freshman guard Eren Banks over the final 1:25 to secure the comeback victory.
Banks finished the game with 19 points. Senior guard Tyren Moore scored a game-high 21 points for the Eagles.
“I thought we competed in spurts in the second half,” Johnson said. “Georgia Southern does a great job of moving the ball, and for the most part, in the second half, we were solid defensively. But late in the game, we had a number of breakdowns, and they took advantage of those.”
Texas State will attempt to snap its three-game losing streak against its next opponent, Georgia State University (13-14, 7-8 Sun Belt Conference). The Panthers are coming off a 72-71 victory over Coastal Carolina.
“We’re shorthanded at the moment, so guys have to step up for us to respond on Saturday,” Johnson said.
Tip-off between Texas State and Georgia State is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at the GSU Convocation Center in Atlanta. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
