Texas State men’s basketball extended its winning streak to five after defeating Rice University 75-66 at Strahan Arena Sunday afternoon.
Four Bobcats found double-digit scoring, with graduate student forward Tyrel Morgan leading the Bobcats with his first career double-double. Morgan secured 20 points and 10 rebounds.
“[I was} just finding mismatches, and you know, my team challenged me to keep giving these guys a spark,” Morgan said. “So that was my main goal, just keep everybody uplifted and positive.”
At the end of the first half, the Bobcats had a 35-31 lead over the Owls. During the second half, the Bobcats came back strong, adding 40 more points to the final score.
“Tyrell Morgan came up with a great saying last year, and he said, ‘don’t let go of the rope,’” Texas State Head Coach Terrence Johnson said. “Then I think at halftime these guys were saying, ‘pick up the rope’ because sometimes you’ve got one or two guys letting go of the rope and then sometimes no one even has the rope. We have to pick it up before we could not let it go.”
Redshirt senior forward Tylan Pope and junior guard Coleton Benson both secured 13 points each for the Bobcats. Pope went 7-7 in free throw attempts and obtained 2 blocks.
Benson drained three three-point jumpers in a row during the first half, finishing the game 4-8 in field goals in his second game coming off an injury.
“These guys have been rooting for [Benson],” Johnson said. “He’s had a number of different setbacks since he’s been here and he’s staying consistent with who he is and how he does things. Like [graduate student guard] Drue [Drinnon], we believe that if he has a good look, that he should shoot it, and when you give guys that kind of level of confidence, you know what they’re capable of doing. You know they do their job and he came through and did his job today.”
Sophomore guard Kaden Gumbs captured a team-leading six assists, plus seven points and three rebounds for the Bobcats.
Securing 11 points, Drinnon drained three three-pointers, going 4-4 in field goals.
Next, the Bobcats will travel to Boca Raton, Florida, to take on Florida Atlantic University. The Owls are on a one-win winning streak after bouncing back from a streak of three losses. The Owls sit 5-5 so far this season.
Tip-off between Texas State and Florida Atlantic is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
