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Nijal Pearson made history over the weekend, becoming Texas State’s all-time leading scorer on Thursday.
With 2:44 left in the first half of the Bobcats’ game against the Ragin’ Cajuns in Lafayette, Louisiana, Pearson grabbed a defensive rebound and charged up the floor on a fastbreak. He picked up his dribble at the left elbow and drove to the rim, but lost the ball momentarily when a defender knocked it out of his hands.
The senior guard recovered and banked in a floater in the paint to pass Charles Sharp’s 60-year old record of 1,884 career points. Pearson finished the evening with a game-high 23 points, helping Texas State (12-8, 5-4 Sun Belt) defeat Louisiana (7-13, 2-7), 64-63. He added another 18 points on Saturday, when the team beat Louisiana-Monroe (6-12, 2-7), 68-59.
“It means everything to me. You know, it's big time,” Pearson said. “It's just so -- like, from where I came from to where I'm at now, it's been an amazing journey, it's been a fun journey, it's been full of ups and downs. And I'm not finished. I'm still working hard, still going hard. But I mean, it means a lot, you know, just yo say I made something of myself, I made a name for myself. It just means the world to me.
“It's much more to come, so if you're a fan of Nijal Pearson, or you follow Nijal Pearson, know that this is not the last you're going to hear of me or the last thing that I'm going to do. You know, I'm still going, I'm steady going. All glory to God, all praise to the most high. And this is for everybody who ever believed in me, everybody who gave me a chance, everybody who just rooted me on, cheered me on, anything. I love y'all, all my fans, all my family, all my friends. This for all my lost ones. It's major, man, it's bigger than me. So thank you. Thank you to everybody. Thank you God.”
The Bobcats return to Strahan Arena this Saturday when the team hosts UT Arlington (8-12, 4-5) at 4 p.m.
