TXST MEN’S BASKETBALL
Texas State two games out first place in the Sun Belt conference
This season, Head Coach Terrence Johnson and the Bobcats have embraced the slogan of treating teams who visit Strahan Arena as “Unwanted Guests,” leading to Texas State’s 14-1 home record.
With the conferenceleading Troy Trojans falling victim to the Bobcats’ treatment of unwanted guests in Texas State’s 74-62 win, the spurring of the team’s success at home has been simple.
“So we got some nice guys and sometimes when you have nice guys, you need a tad bit of nastiness,” Johnson said. “So we got to get a little bit of that. We used to have a little bit of that when we had Nijal Pearson here and now we’re trying to get it back. But I also think that when we had Mason Harrell and Caleb Ashberry, they had a little bit of a bite to them. So we’re trying to develop that, and these guys are learning how to do that.
“The idea of having unwanted guests changes things around here. So I appreciate those guys buying into that slogan and embracing it.”
The Bobcats win over Troy improves Texas State’s overall record to 16-11 and 8-6 in conference play, sitting two games out of first place behind App State.
Playing in front of a crowd of over 2,700 in attendance, senior Mark Drone knew the importance of taking a victory over the Trojans.
“We knew that if we won this game, we were not only going to be good in the rankings, but also it was going to help us have momentum going into the next game Saturday,” Drone said. “So I feel like if we just keep this momentum going, in the end it’ll turn out good.”
Texas State took the lead early in the first half and failed to give it up as the Bobcats shot over 60% from the field during the period.
With the Bobcats jumping to the early lead and maintaining it, Johnson gave credit to his star freshman forward.
“I hadn’t been able to say this in a long time, but that was DJ Hall, I’m just going to be honest with you,” Johnson said. “He had it absolutely going early on and I think you have to credit his teammates for finding him and sticking with it. But when he gets in that zone like that, man, he can ride one off pretty well. Then we got some stops, got out and transitioned a little bit, but I told him, ‘Man, you got us off to our heck of a start.’ When the Bobcats get off to a good start, we could be pretty tough to beat.”
Hall finished the game with a team-high 21 points. Drone was second with 15 point; the duo also led the team in rebounds with six each. Junior guard Kaden Gumbs was the third Bobcats in double figures with 11 points while leading the team in assists with four.
In the Bobcats previous game against the Trojans, Texas State dropped their road game 100-80.
On the turnaround performance, Johnson felt the team was more disciplined and more together than the last time the Bobcats took on Troy.
“We’re a little bit more connected than we were then,” Johnson said. “A lot of those were mistakes, to be honest with you. That’s a very good, well coached team. I have a lot of respect for Scott [Cross] even when he was at UTA. He’s done a really good job, being multiple time coach of the year in this league.
“So we knew that if we made mistakes that they were going to pick us apart so we worked on our discipline. … When we play at home, we’re right around our average of what we’re giving up here, somewhere between 65-68 points, around that field. I thought our guys took a little bit more pride in getting stops that we needed.”
Texas State returns home Saturday to face the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks. ULM comes into the game with a 422 overall record following a 103-70 loss to Arkansas State last Wednesday.
Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Strahan Arena.
