TXST MEN’S BASKETBALL
In the final Sun Belt-MAC Challenge for Texas State, the Bobcats outscored the Western Michigan Broncos 16-4 in the final five minutes of the game en route to a 77-61 win.
Texas State improves to 15-11 overall while Western Michigan falls to 8-15.
“I thought that our guys were really good tonight as far as holding on to the rope and playing together,” Head Coach Terrence Johnson said. “One of the reasons why they were, is because we’re at home. We’ve been pretty good in this building and the fans, the crowd was amazing, Probably one of our best crowds of the year.
“So I’m super-excited about just where we’re headed right now. I think we’re chipping away, getting better and we’re taking steps.”
Texas State trailed Western Michigan 12-7 in the beginning of the first half before the Bobcats went on a 13-3 run, capped off by a tip-in by Robert Fields, to take a 20-15 lead.
The Broncos tied the game up at 20-20 but Texas State answered with a 16-3 run to push the lead up to double figures. Following a layup by Western Michigan, Texas State led 36-25.
Despite holding the lead for the entire second half, Western Michigan made their comeback and soon cut the Bobcats’ lead down to 61-57 with less than five minutes left in the game.
For Texas State, the Bobcats had found themselves in the same situation in their previous game, where Georgia Southern made a late comeback before the ‘Cats escaped with a critical conference road win.
Now back in a similar situation, Johnson motivated the team to flip the narrative.
“I don’t know what it says, but I can tell you what was said,” Johnson said. “We were just in the situation at Georgia Southern, and we just, I mean, we turned up, we turned what I thought was a pretty good drama story into a horror story in the last couple of minutes of the game.
“We almost tried to give that game away. So I reminded them we were just here a week ago, and we said that we were, we weren’t going to put ourselves in that position anymore. So what are you going to do about it? So I’m glad that they responded. I appreciate that for sure.”
With senior guard Mark Drone and junior guard Kaden Gumbs spearheading the offense, the duo knew that composure was the key to win.
“Basically, it was us telling each other to stay composed,” senior Mark Drone said. “Don’t let the game get away from us. We knew if we kept doing that, that we were going to eliminate the chances of Western Michigan getting back into the game.”
“We have a saying, pull the rope, don’t let it go,” junior Kaden Gumbs said. “So I think we all just pulled the rope, and we played four minute games, so that helped us.”
In the final five minutes of the game, the Bobcats outscored Western Michigan 16-4 for Texas State to slam the door shut on a Bronco comeback and seal the win 77-61.
“It means that we’re starting to connect,” Johnson said on the Bobcats performance in the final minutes of the game. “You’re looking at months and months of work at winning, becoming a byproduct. You’re seeing individual talent playing together as one. Early on, you were just seeing individual talent. You’re seeing guys playing hard, but they’re also playing smart. You’re seeing connectivity [and] our guys bring culture to the floor.”
Drone led the team in scoring with 20 points followed by freshman D.J. Hall with 16 points. Gumbs was third in scoring with 15 points.
Texas State returns to play Wednesday night for a showdown with the conference-leading Troy Trojans.
The Trojans enter the game with a 17-8 overall record and a 9-3 conference record coming off a 79-69 win over the Akron Zips last Saturday.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Strahan Arena.
Franck Emmou goes up for the shot in the Bobcats home win over Western Michigan. The Bobcats are back home Wednesday against Troy. Daily Record photo by Gerald Castillo
