Texas State men’s basketball finished with 18 turnovers compared to Florida Atlantic University’s six in its 80-89 defeat at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton, Florida.
Senior forward Tylan Pope and sophomore guard Kaden Gumbs accounted for 50% of the Bobcat turnovers.
Texas State’s record sits 7-4 after the road loss while FAU moves to 7-5.
The Bobcats have a 1-3 record when playing as the visiting team and a 4-0 record at home. Their other two wins were hosted in neutral sites.
Junior forward Tre Carroll led the Owls in scoring, coming off the bench with 18 points. Sophomore guard Niccolo Moretti also came off the bench for FAU, scoring 15 points.
Sophomore forward Kaleb Glenn, freshman center Matas Vokietaitis and junior forward Baba Miller all finished with double-digit points for Florida Atlantic.
Texas State finished with four double-digit scorers against the Owls. Senior forward Tyrel Morgan led the Bobcats in scoring with 19 points. Pope finished second in scoring with 14 points for the maroon and gold.
The matchup remained tight throughout the first half. After eight minutes of play, the game was tied at 15-15 following a Texas State layup. With five minutes remaining in the first half, the game was still even with the score at 30-30. FAU closed the first half with a 43-40 lead.
Four minutes in the second half, the Owls held a one-point lead over Texas State, 51-50. FAU held a 63-61 lead over Texas State with just over seven minutes remaining in the game and extended its lead during the next two minutes with a 9-2 run.
Texas State cut the ten-point FAU lead down to five with 20 seconds remaining, but it was too much to overcome. The Florida Atlantic Owls closed out Texas State with a score of 89-80.
For its next contest, Texas State will host Georgia Southern for its first Sun Belt Conference game of the season. GA Southern holds a 6-5 record and was most recently defeated by Louisiana Tech 77-63.
The matchup between Texas State and Georgia Southern is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec 21, at Strahan Arena and will be available to watch on ESPN+.
