Despite the highest attendance of the season and a chance to win the game at the buzzer, the Texas State men’s basketball team (12-9, 5-5 Sun Belt) fell to in-state rival University of Texas at Arlington (9-12, 5-5 Sun Belt) Saturday afternoon at Strahan Arena.
The Bobcats got out to a quick start with an early 11-2 lead, but the Mavericks quickly bounced back with a 7-0 run.
The Bobcats lost their long-running lead at halftime, trailing 35-34, and continued to stay behind for most of the second half. After falling by as much as eight in the final minutes of play, Texas State’s offense caught on fire in a last-second comeback attempt with a 9-2 run. With less than thirty seconds to go, the ‘Cats cut the lead to 2 and even had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but senior guard Nijal Pearson’s three-point attempt hit the back of the rim to finalize the loss.
Pearson was honored before the game in front of over 4,000 fans as he recently became the all-time leading scorer for the Bobcats. Pearson finished the game with a game-high 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while junior forward Isiah Small also scored in double-digits with 11 points.
Texas State will continue its homestand at Strahan as they face ULM Thursday night at 7 p.m.