Bobcats advance to quarterfinals with win over Southern Miss

Texas State’s run in the Sun Belt Tournament continues for another day as the Bobcats defeated Southern Miss 75-59.

The Bobcats and Head Coach Terrence Johnson advance to the Sun Belt Quarterfinals for the second consecutive year after playing in the first round.

“What an unbelievable game,” Johnson said. “What we tried to do is establish points in the paint and rebound at a high clip, and we did that.”

It was a battle early on as Texas State jumped out to a 8-3 lead before Southern Miss tied the game up at 10-10.

The two teams traded baskets back and forth as neither team could seemingly gain an advantage over the other.

Following a Southern Miss layup by Mo Arnold, the Bobcats held a 19-18 lead with 8:48 remaining in the first half.

Texas State found some breathing room following the layup as the Bobcats went on a 8-1 run capped off by a two-point jumper from sophomore guard Jordan Mason to go up 27-19.

The Bobcats continued to pour it on late in the first half outscoring the Golden Eagles 7-4 as Texas State went into halftime up 34-23.

Texas State didn’t relent to start the second half as the Bobcats started out with a 9-0 run, capped off by a Dylan Dawson three-pointer, to take a commanding 43-23 lead.

Knowing how important the first four minutes of the second half were, Mason and the Bobcats had to get off on the right foot to put away the Golden Eagles for good.

“[Coach Johnson] told us to not let go of the rope,” Mason said. “That is something that has stuck with us and has been our motto on the team. We had the lead going into the half, but we knew that the first four minutes were really important. So we had to come out with the right energy and attitude coming into it. If we could do that, we were going to get the win.”

In the end, the first four minutes of the second half was the difference maker.

Southern Miss failed to cut the deficit into single digits as the Bobcats rolled to a 75-59 win over the Golden Eagles.

It was a career night for junior guard Dontae Horne who finished the game with a career high 20 points followed by Mason with 18 points.

The Bobcats also out-rebounded Southern Miss 44-27 limited the Golden Eagles to just two second chance points.

With rebounding a major element to the Bobcats success throughout their turnaround, Johnson was about the team setting the tone through their physicality in a league known for being physical.

“If not I would have been disappointed,” Johnson said. “I’m tougher than I look, so I demand a certain thing from these guys. But they did exactly what I expected them to do from a physical standpoint. We know what this league is, and it’s a physical league. Once you establish yourself there, you set the tone for how the rest of the game is called.”

Texas State will move on to the Sun Belt Quarterfinals where the Bobcats will take on the Troy Trojans.

This will be the Bobcats second meeting with the Trojans in week span as Texas State defeated Troy last Saturday in overtime in the regular season finale.

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc