Texas State men’s basketball (7-11, 1-5 Sun Belt Conference) was defeated 86-68 by the University of Louisiana-Lafayette (10-8, 3-3 Sun Belt Conference) Wednesday night at Strahan Arena.
The loss marks Texas State’s fifth loss in conference play.
Freshman guard Kaden Gumbs and sophomore forward Davion Sykes led Texas State in scoring, combining for a total of 33 points along with 10 rebounds.
“We’ve got to get back to the drawing board and try and help these guys understand, what we’re trying to look for and how to execute a game plan,” Texas State Head Coach Terrence Johnson said. “I think it starts with the fact that we’re still leaning on the younger guys [that are] still trying to adjust to college basketball.”
Within the opening minutes in the first half, the Bobcats and Louisiana-Lafayette were battling for a lead but the Ragin’ Cajuns red hot shooting built them a 15-point lead at halftime.
Louisiana-Lafayette kept its foot on the gas in the second half going up by as many as 35 points. Five Ragin’ Cajuns finished the game in double figures. Redshirt junior forward Kobe Julien scored a team high 18 points for Louisiana-Lafayette while redshirt junior guard Themus Fulks registered 13 points, 10 assists and five assists.
Gumbs led Texas State’s attempt at a comeback victory with 17 points, but the Bobcats’ offense couldn’t keep up with the Ragin’ Cajuns due primarily to shooting 7.7% from the three-point line as a team.
Gumbs finished with a career high 17 points. The 16 points scored by Sykes was also a career-high.
Next Texas State will face Arkansas State (7-11, 3-3 Sun Belt Conference). The Red Wolves are coming off a 69-66 loss to Southern Miss.
Tip-off between Texas State and Arkansas State is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20 at Strahan Arena. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
