Photo by Gerald Castillo
Texas State closes out at home for 72-68 win over Louisiana
In a game in which every possession mattered, Texas State’s coaches did what they had to do to earn an extra one.
With 12:30 on the clock in the first half of Saturday’s game between the Bobcats and Louisiana, Ragin’ Cajuns junior guard Jalen Dalcourt swung the ball from the top of the key to fellow junior guard Brayan Au on the right wing. Au took one dribble toward baseline, receiving a screen from sophomore forward Jordan Brown, but was cut off by a hedge from Texas State senior forward Nighael Ceaser.
Au took two dribbles backward and Ceaser chose to stick with him, forming a double-team with junior guard Drue Drinnon on the sideline. Au picked the ball up but had nowhere to throw it to. Bobcats head coach Terrence Johnson slid down to the trio and threw his arms up, making it a triple-team and adding pressure on Au. Assistant coach Robert Guster rose out of his seat on the bench and tried to do the same, but was held back by a referee on the sideline.
“I play a little bit of defense in practice a little bit. But you won't find much film on that, they don't show that kind of stuff,” Johnson said. “Gus is usually an offensive player, though. Trust me.”
Au tried pivoting back toward the top of the key, but Drinnon got his hands on the rock, forcing a jump ball with the possession arrow pointing in the maroon and gold’s favor.
That’s what it took for Texas State to edge out Louisiana inside Strahan Arena, 72-68.
This was cool -- Drue Drinnon (@liljosh8) and Nighael Ceaser (@Yvng_reece23) trap Louisiana on the sideline. Terrence Johnson slides down to make it a triple team. Assistant coach Rob Guster (@GusterRobert) tries to get in on it and gets pushed back by the ref. Jumpball, #TXST pic.twitter.com/zrld02qWuD
— Drew King (@drewking0222) January 15, 2022
“It took resilience,” Johnson said. “You know, it took our guys stepping up and settling down and believing in themselves and believing in our system. It took some scrappy plays, it took some tough rebounding. And just to be quite honest with you, it took all that we had. So I'm super appreciative to these guys for trusting me and believing in what we do. And I'm glad I'm in this locker room.”
Both teams struggled with turnovers early on, with each side committing seven midway through the first half. But the Bobcats grinded their way to a slim 20-15 lead by running the Ragin’ Cajuns off the 3-point line.
Louisiana came into Saturday’s contest taking 22.8 shots from outside per game but were 0-2 from beyond the arc through the opening 12 minutes of the first half. That changed after a media timeout at the 7:17 mark, though.
The visitors started getting the ball to their shooters in space and closed out hitting 5-6 from 3, the final three makes coming from redshirt freshman forward Kobe Julien. Louisiana grew its lead by as much as four before halftime, but couldn’t hold onto it after a strong showing from Texas State senior guard Mason Harrell.
Harrell came out of the gates aggressively on offense — something he hasn’t shown as much this season — finding creative ways to beat his defender off the dribble and get into the paint. A floater on the Bobcats’ last possession of the half tied the game up at 32-32 and had Harrell up to 12 points.
On a possession that wasn't really going anywhere, Mason Harrell (@MasonHarrell12) makes something out of nothing.
He catches his defender flat-footed and hits the and-1 @smdrsports pic.twitter.com/3UocNmFb68— Drew King (@drewking0222) January 15, 2022
“We tried our best to just make them penetrate and use our athleticism and speed and everything to just stay in front of them and keep them off the 3-point line,” Harrell said. “(I was) just trying to establish myself early. I know if I'm aggressive early, that opens up other things for my teammates later down in the game. So I'm really just trying to go out there and be aggressive and just open the floor up for everybody else.”
The hosts’ offense came to a screeching halt early in the second half, missing five-straight field goals, which allowed the Cajuns to crack open the largest lead of the game at 47-35 with 12:59 left to play. But a layup from senior guard Caleb Asberry and a trey from fifth-year senior guard Shelby Adams was all Texas State needed to turn the tide.
With 11:18 remaining, Asberry hit a stepback jumper, stole the ball back and dunked it in transition. On the team’s next possession, he hit a pull-up jumper that cut the lead down to two points — a single-handed 7-0 run. Fifth-year senior forward Isiah Small hit a pair of free throws on the next trip down to knot it up again at 49-49.
Four-point swing*
But @calebasberry_ is on a heater -- #TXST is on a 10-0 run and the last seven are all No. 5 @smdrsports https://t.co/XWGcFeoXaQ pic.twitter.com/D4Fvheb9Yk— Drew King (@drewking0222) January 15, 2022
“It was huge, mainly because everyone on the sideline trusts me to do it,” Asberry said. “So I just want to thank my teammates for really trusting me and my coaches for just giving me the opportunity to be me.”
The last time Louisiana played in San Marcos on Jan. 30, 2021, an out-of-character error by Asberry became one of the biggest reasons Texas State lost. An inbounds pass on the baseline deflected off Asberry’s hands and was scooped up by the Cajuns, who scored the go-ahead bucket with 0.4 seconds remaining. The visitors won the game 74-73, sweeping the Bobcats for the weekend.
But on Saturday, Asberry was one of the biggest reasons his team won. He redeemed himself, scoring a game-high 22 points and lifting Texas State down the stretch of the 72-68 victory.
“I had all that in my mind,” said Asberry, who also added five rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.
Harrell finished the night with 16 points, followed by Small with 11.
The Bobcats will travel for a pair of road games next week, taking on Little Rock on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and Arkansas State on Saturday at 2 p.m. With a sweep of this weekend’s home slate, including a nail-biter over a team Texas State lost three times to last season, Johnson’s hopeful his team is figuring out what it takes to accomplish everything they're wanting.
“I'm happy with the way these guys competed, man. It's fun to watch them fight back,” Johnson said. “You know, what we're doing is we're just growing. You know, every team has its own identity. It's gonna take games like this … These are character-building wins. So hopefully we're taking a step in the right direction.”
