By Tyler Mayforth
Daily Record Sports
San Marcos — After Texas State clinched the fifth seed in the Southland Conference tournament by virtue of its 101-97 win against Sam Houston State last Saturday, Bobcats head coach Doug Davalos was beside himself following a reporter’s question.
Davalos had the look of a coach who’d just been slighted when the reporter suggested his team could extend its current win streak by advancing to the second round of the postseason.
“Hell no. We don’t want one more, we want three more,” Davalos said. “A couple more wins doesn’t get us to where we want to go.”
Two of his star players, All-SLC third team junior forward Cameron Johnson and senior forward John Rybak, agreed with their coach’s sentiments.
“We just don’t want to win one game, because that’s not what underdogs do,” Johnson said. “We were picked last in the conference and there’s no better way to prove people wrong than win the tournament.”
Rybak concurred, but took it one step further.
“This program has been losing for too long and now it’s time to change all of that,” Rybak said. “Each and ever year, you build and it’s time to move up the ladder. We’re tired of being picked last.”
Pardon Davalos and his team. They’re not used to being on this stage.
Texas State hasn’t reached the conference tournament too many times in the last 10 years and only have one win since the Y2K scare. The Bobcats took a double-digit lead against Nicholls State in 2009 but watched it slip away in a five-point loss.
“I don’t think anybody on our team last year had experience playing in the Southland Conference tournament and that’s something we really lacked,” Rybak said. “We got ahead of ourselves when we were up eight in the first half and kind of relaxed.”
One thing Texas State has done well during its win streak is to not let up, so don’t expect the squad to roll over tonight against Southeastern Louisiana.
The Bobcats didn’t show up to play the Lions once this season (a 75-66 loss in Hammond, La.) and the result wasn’t pretty. Texas State turned the ball over 17 times and proceeded to shoot 18 percent from the field in the second half.
“What I remember about that game doesn’t have to do with Southeastern Louisiana,” Johnson said. “I remember our team not giving them our best shot. They’re going to get our best shot from the start of this game.”
The Bobcats must try to neutralize All-SLC second team senior forward Patrick Sullivan and limit the Lions’ potent guards if they expect to go toe-to-toe with the SLU.
Sullivan destroyed Texas State in the team’s first meeting Feb. 3, pouring in 23 points on 7-for-12 shooting while grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking eight shots. Last year, He had eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks against the Bobcats before running into early foul trouble.
With Sullivan’s help (.571 field-goal percentage), the Lions are the best shooting team in the SLC. SLU pours in its baskets at a 49-percent clip and can easily get open looks by going inside-out.
“They’re the best shooting team in the league and have one of the best, if not the best, low-block players in the league,” Davalos said. “When you have that combination, it’s a pick your poison.”
Texas State will need its forwards (Johnson, Emmanuel Bidias a Moute, Tony Bishop and Jonathan Sloan) at their best in order to slow Sullivan. Bishop has looked tired as of late, but with Moute on the rise and Sloan giving mediocre-to-productive minutes, it might not be out of the question for the Lions to rely on other players.
Should the Bobcats force SLU out of its game plan, Texas State will need to continue its spread-out scoring to catapult it ahead. Once in the lead, the Bobcats aren’t about to let it slip away.
“I believe last year there was a lot of relief just getting to the tournament,” Davalos said. “I don’t think this team has any motivation to go to Katy except to win the whole thing. Every team has the same goal, but I don’t think every team has the same look in their eyes as we do.”
SLC Basketball Tournament
Merrill Center, Katy, Tx.
Men’s Bracket
Wednesday’s Games
• Game 1 — No. 2 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 7 UT-Arlington, 12 p.m.
• Game 2 — No. 3 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. No. 6 Texas-San Antonio, 2:30 p.m.
• Game 3 — No. 1 Sam Houston State vs. No. 8 Nicholls State, 6 p.m.
• Game 4 — No. 4 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 5 Texas State, 8:30 p.m.
Thursday’s Games
• Game 5 — Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 6:05 p.m.
• Game 6 — Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner, 8:33 p.m.
Saturday’s Game
• Game 7 — Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 3:05 p.m.
Women’s Bracket
Tuesday’s Games
• Game 1 — No. 7 Northwestern State 96, No. 2 Stephen F. Austin 82.
• Game 2 — No. 3 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 99, No. 6 Sam Houston State 79.
• Game 3 — No. 1 Lamar 88, No. 8 Southeastern Louisiana 64
• Game 4 — No. 5 UT-Arlington 68, No. 4 Texas-San Antonio 63.
Thursday’s Games
• Game 5 — No. 3 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. No. 7 Northwestern State, 12 p.m.
• Game 6 — No. 1 Lamar vs. No. 5 UT-Arlington, 2:30 p.m
Friday’s Game
• Game 7 — Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 7 p.m.
