TXST MEN’S BASKETBALL
The Bobcats were in danger of losing their second consecutive conference game as Texas State trailed by 15 points with less than 15 minutes left in the game to the South Alabama Jaguars.
But despite everything that had gone wrong, both against the Red Wolves and in the first half against the Jaguars, there was no quit with senior Jalen Bolden.
“That Arkansas State game, we didn’t really go how we wanted to,” Bolden said. ”I feel we didn’t really play how Texas State plays. So the emphasis for the past two days of practice and film, fixing those mistakes because I feel like we made a lot of mistakes. In the first half, we made a lot of mistakes, so the second half, it was just about, coming in there, fighting, doing what Coach wanted us to do, and then executing everything that he put in front of us.
“We just brought the toughness and we competed, and then came out with the win at the end.”
Texas State rallied before taking the lead on a three-pointer from sophomore Franck Emmou with less than two minutes left in the game before the Bobcats held on for a 67-65 win for their first conference victory in the season.
Texas State improved to 8-6 overall and 1-1 in conference play while South Alabama falls to 94 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Head Coach Terrence Johnson was proud of his team for not only coming away with the win but also overcoming some of the biggest obstacles the Bobcats have faced this year.
“[South Alabama] pushed us further than we’ve been pushed all season,” Johnson said. “When you’re faced with what we were faced with, you can choose to fight or you can choose the flight. I have to give a lot of credit to these guys, because they chose to fight. It doesn’t matter what I say, what matters is what they believe and what they’re willing to do. These guys had a high level of belief and a high level of willingness to do whatever it took for us to win.”
At the end of the first half, Texas State trailed 39-25 and were in danger of losing their second conference game by more than double figures.
During halftime, Bolden was not satisfied with how the team was playing, knowing how important a conference win is before going on Christmas Break.
“It was mental,” Bolden said. “For the first half, we weren’t playing how we were supposed to. At halftime, we just talked about Arkansas State and how that should leave a bad taste in our mouth. Leaving that game, losing by 19 points, it’s conference now. I just feel like we had to get this win, especially going into the break. We had to get this win to go one and one in conference. So I feel like it was just really all mental.”
Though South Alabama pushed the lead to 15, Texas State started their comeback by going on a 13-2 run with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, making it a 48-44 game.
The Jaguars pushed the lead back to six, but the Bobcats dug in their heels and tied the game on a Bolden threepointer to make it 56-56 with less than four minutes left.
South Alabama went up by three before senior guard Mark Drone made a jumper and Emmou hit the three-pointer to give Texas State a 61-59 lead.
Texas State pushed their lead up to five before a South Alabama three-pointer made it a one-possession game at 67-65 with six seconds left. But the Jaguars were unable to connect with the final game-winning shot as Texas State completed the comeback win.
Freshman D.J. Hall led the team in scoring with 15 points followed by Drone with 11 and Bolden with 10.
Another critical factor in the Bobcats win was Texas State out-rebounding South Alabama 4428 which limited the Jaguars to just seven secondchance points.
“As a post player you should want to go in every game, trying to win the rebound margin,” Hall said. “I have put a lot of emphasis on the boards, offensive rebounds mainly because defensive rebounds if you just track the ball down, you’re gonna get it. But a lot of the guys, a lot of the postmen, especially, just went to this game, played more physically than we did Arkansas State and that led to better rebounds.”
The Bobcats return to play New Year’s Eve as the Bobcats make the trip to Troy to take on the Trojans. Troy enters the game with a 8-5 overall record and a 1-0 conference record, having beat Marshall last Saturday.
Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. Thursday in Troy.
Junior Kaden Gumbs [11] and senior Makai Willis [22] force the turnover on defense in the Bobcats win over South Alabama. Texas State won their first conference game of the season. Daily Record photo by Gerald Castillo
