Sophomore guard Jordan Mason scored 16 points as Texas State men’s basketball (7-10, 1-4 Sun Belt Conference) defeated Louisiana-Monroe (4-11, 0-5 Sun Belt Conference) 67-54 Sunday afternoon at the Fast-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, Louisiana.
“I’m ecstatic. It has been a long time coming. We have been working really hard but sometimes work doesn’t necessarily guarantee results,” Texas State Head Coach Terrence Johnson said.
Freshman guard Kaden Gumbs added 10 points and three rebounds to the stat sheet and sophomore guard Colten Benson scored 15 points as Texas State shot 54.5% from the three-point line.
ULM got off to a hot start in the opening minutes of the game, but in the middle of the first half, Benson knocked down a three-pointer, followed by another three-pointer from Mason to shift the momentum.
By the end of the first half, the Bobcats were up by four, shooting 67% from the three-point line and 68% from the charity stripe.
Going into the second half, Gumbs sank two jumpers to give the Bobcats a six-point lead.
Junior forward Makai Willis scored a team-high 11 points for the Warhawks. Junior guard Tyreese Watson added 10 points.
Due to Louisiana-Monroe’s lack of scoring in the first half, the Bobcats secured their first win of conference play.
Texas State will look to win back-to-back conference games against its next opponent, Louisiana-Lafayette University (9-8, 2-3 Sun Belt Conference).
“I’m proud of my team because they kept believing no matter what the outcomes were in the previous games,” Johnson said. “I’m hoping this is something we can build off of and we have the right guys in the locker room to do that.”
Tip-off between Texas State and Louisiana-Lafayette is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, at Strahan Arena. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
