Texas State defeats Cameron in exhibition game

Though it wasn’t an official game, it still felt like a regular season opener.

Texas State defeated the Cameron Aggies, 90-65, in an exhibition game in what was a warm up before the start of the regular season.

After spending a month scrimmaging each other, it was good for the team to play someone else not wearing a Bobcat uniform according to head coach Terrence Johnson.

“It was good for us to play someone that was not ourselves,” Johnson said. “Cameron is a well coached team. But we got new people in new places so it’s important to us to get that experience. We’ve been good for the past couple of years because of that experience and this is the youngest we’ve been in a really long time.”

One of the biggest keys of the game was having the players, who are not experienced, play different positions while getting used to playing in a pseudo regular season game.

“I was happy with the outcome of the game,” Johnson said. “We got some guys learning new positions and concepts. It’s going to be important to sharpen that learning curve moving forward.”

It is a key that Johnson was looking forward to when preparing for Cameron.

“What you try to do is treat these exhibition games like they are a real game,” Johnson said. “You want your guys to take this seriously and play till possession. You need them to start doing the things they have to do in order to win games. So we approach this game no differently than a regular-season game.

“It shows in games like this that if you do things consistently like we did tonight that you can have yourself a good team.”

Brandon Davis led the team in scoring with 23 points followed by Tyrel Morgan with 16, Brandon Love with 13 and Nate Martin with 10, giving the Bobcats four different players who scored in double figures.

Along with Jordan Mason who had 8 points with three rebounds, these were some of the players that stood out for Johnson.

“I thought Jordan Mason played well,” Johnson said. “He played within the system for the most part and within himself. His minutes were super quality and came within the impact of winning. Brandon Love showed some flashes of what he can do with his size and length. I also thought transfer Brandon Davis was able to knock down some open shots.”

Johnson expects Davis, the transfer out of Loyola-New Orleans, to be a major piece moving forward as he adjusts to the new system.

“I thought he played well,” Johnson said. “He was able to score and pick his spots pretty good. We know he can score so if he can learn the subtle nuances of our defense and principles, I expect to get more nights out of him.”

With some key players not playing in the exhibition including Mason Harrell, Johnson talked about how experience will be a key factor in the success of the team.

“Experience is the best teacher,” Johnson said. “When those guys get an opportunity and take full advantage as Mason and Nighael [Ceaser] get back, those guys will be seasoned and be able to contribute at a high level.”

Texas State returns to play Monday for the regular-season opener on the road against Washington State.