Bobcats fall to Louisiana in front of large crowd at Strahan

In front of a packed house at Strahan Arena, Texas State was unable to capture the win as the Bobcats fell to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 86-68. 

It was a tough outing for Head Coach Terrence Johnson’s squad as the Bobcats struggled on both offense and defense. 

“This wasn’t one of our better nights,” Johnson said. “We struggled with dealing with the press and lacked a little bit of poise and consistency in what we are trying to do. When you are playing against [Louisiana], they feed off of that. We have to get back to the drawing board and help these guys understand what we are trying to look for and execute a game plan.”

Johnson also was also credited with the Cajuns who improved their record to 3-3 in conference play.

“It starts with Coach Marlin and his group,” Johnson said “They are extremely consistent in their identity. That’s the kind of program we hope to be one day. They are hungry, tough, skilled and well coached.”

It was an exciting back and forth affair between the Bobcats and the Cajuns early in the first as both teams traded the lead back and forth ending in a 15-15 tie following a layup from forward Christian Turner with 14:12 remaining in the half. 

But a 8-2 run by the Cajuns saw Louisiana take control of the game at 23-17. 

After a layup by freshman guard and San Marcos High School graduate Kaden Gumbs to cut the lead down to 23-19, the Cajuns held the Bobcats to just one field goal over a near ten minute span as Louisiana outscored Texas State 20-6 to take a commanding 43-25 lead. 

Louisiana continued their dominance in the second half as the Bobcats were unable to mount a comeback en route to the home defeat. 

Part of the struggles the Bobcats have been facing during the season is their reliance on using underclassmen for their production due to numerous injuries on the roster. 

The Bobcats saw both Gumbs and sophomores Jordan Mason and Davion Sykes lead the team in scoring with both Gumbs and Sykes reaching career highs with 17 and 16 points along with Mason’s 12 points.

“It starts with the fact you are leaning on some young guys that are trying to adjust to college sports,”  Johnson said. “They are doing well but they are just playing. When you just play the game rather than impact the game, it’s a little bit different.”

While Johnson admires his younger players for stepping up during these tough times, they still are in the process of learning. 

“We are looking for more impactful games at the right time,” Johnson said. “We have freshmen and sophomores playing their tails off but at the same time we need some impact making meaningful plays at meaningful times. It takes awhile to understand what that is and understand how to consistently get that but that’s what we have to do as coaches and we need to do a better job of that.”

Johnson was also happy and honored for the support Texas State fan base showed during the game marking the first game with students back on campus. 

“I just want to say about our administration and fans that we appreciate the love and support,” Johnson said. “The crowd tonight was amazing and it was extremely loud. It seems like no matter what you are going through, you are looking at the faithful and you appreciate everything that it takes for them to come out and show their love and support for a program that is trying to find its identity. I’m super humbled and it starts with this community.”

Texas State is back home this week as the Bobcats look to be back in the win column against Arkansas State. 

Tip-off is set for 4:15 Saturday afternoon.