Bobcats beat Pioneers 71-58 for 5th-straight win

Terrence Johnson worried his team was headed for a “trap game.”

Texas State pulled off an impressive 12-point comeback on Tuesday to defeat Rice on the road — a fourth-straight win that likely boosted the players’ confidence. The Bobcats returned to San Marcos just in time for final exam season to begin.

“Usually the third thing that’s on your mind is the upcoming opponent,” Johnson said. “And whenever that happens, you can find yourself in a tough place.”

The maroon and gold’s leaders, senior guards Shelby Adams and Mason Harrell senior forward Isiah Small, knew better and didn’t allow their teammates to be content. Texas State avoided the trap, walking away with a 71-58 win against Denver on Sunday inside Strahan Arena.

“We just had to chip away at this thing and get it right. You know, it’s a long season. As you guys can see, these are long games and a lot happens throughout the course of them. So I’m just happy that we’ve been resilient enough to weather the storm and get back to Bobcat basketball.”

The Bobcats (6-2) began the game a bit sluggish on both sides of the court. Johnson felt they were too “reactionary” rather than anticipatory, playing off what they saw the Pioneers (3-7) doing rather than sticking to their game plan. No one found much of a rhythm on offense, allowing Denver to jump out to a slight lead in the opening five minutes of the first half.

Sophomore guard Dylan Dawson jolted the team back into shape, knocking down a 3-pointer to give the hosts their first lead at 11-10. Two possessions later, senior forward Nighael Ceaser scooped up an offensive rebound and dished it to Dawson deep on the right wing for another triple. Harrell stole the ball away on the next trip down and found Dawson in the corner for another trey, opening up a 19-10 lead.

Dawson’s nine points and three 3-pointers were both career highs.

“I saw we were having a lack of energy to begin the game,” Dawson said. “So just being able to come in the game, hit shots and bring that energy back to the floor is just a momentum-changer.”

“He has a beautiful jump shot, he just needs to shoot it more and believe in it more,” Johnson said. “And I have to attribute the coaches for working with him after hours and getting the shot ready and continuing to coach mental and emotional health.”

Still, no one else could get much going on offense. Harrell had six points by halftime, but his buckets came several possessions apart. Adams had six points, too, though four of them came from putback layups and the other two from free throws. No other player had more than four points. 

Texas State went into the break ahead, 35-28, but needed someone to step up to extend the lead to a comfortable distance.

Adams answered the call, drilling back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to start the second half. Another putback layup by Adams at the 14:31 mark pushed the Bobcats up by 20. Texas State stayed in front by double digits the rest of the way, earning the 71-58 victory.

“I told (Dawson) ... when he came in, I was on the bench,” Adams said. “And I see him impact the game basically just off his energy. That helps, you know, his shots, taking charges like that. So when he did that, that sparked a little light in me just to pick my energy up and play harder.”

The Bobcats’ winning streak is now up to five in a row. Adams finished the game with a team-leading 14 points, followed by Harrell with 13 points and five assists, and Small, who had 12 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

Texas State fell into a slump around this time last year, a product of a lack of chemistry in the early season and the stresses that final exams add. The team was trounced on the road by No. 13 Texas on Dec. 9 and upset at home by Our Lady of the Lake on Dec. 12. The maroon and gold squeaked by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at home by five points on Dec. 15 — a team they beat on the road by 12 just two weeks earlier. The Bobcats shot 6-46 from outside over the three-game stretch.

Johnson is taking steps for the team to avoid another downturn during the same stretch of this year’s season. The team returns to action on Sunday, taking on Southwestern (3-6) inside Strahan Arena at 4 p.m.

“I think hydration, I think rest, more film study, you know, higher level of understanding, clarity, I think that those are the key things,” Johnson said. “I think from a coaching standpoint, I think we have to kind of look at where we were last year and why we were there and then try to see who we are this year to this point, and talk about our strengths and weaknesses and try to address those things in practice.”