Texas State rallies from halftime deficit to defeat Cal Poly

Texas State rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat Cal Poly, 54-42, on Wednesday at the Portland Classic inside the Chiles Center in Portland, Oregon. 

Junior guard Nijal Pearson led the Bobcats with a game-high 22 points, including 18 second-half points. Senior forward Alex Peacock recorded a double-double with 10 points 11 rebounds.

"I thought our players gave great effort on the defensive end all game long," head coach Danny Kaspar said in a statement. "We had a bad first half offensively with turnovers and missing easy shots. We got it going in the second half. I am very happy that Nijal was able to play such a great game on his birthday."

Texas State (3-1) raced out to an 8-0 lead early in Wednesday’s contest against Cal Poly (1-3). 

But the Mustangs used a 13-0 run midway through the first half to seize a 13-8 advantage. 

Cal Poly saw its lead grow to nine points but it only took a 23-16 lead into the intermission. 

Pearson began the second half with a 3-pointer, which moved the junior into the 20th on Texas State’s career scoring list.

The Bobcats fought their way to take a 30-28 lead. The Mustangs evened the score on the ensuing possession. 

But Texas State gained control of the game thanks to a 17-2 run. Cal Poly got to within nine, but the Bobcats held on for the 54-42 win.

Texas State returns to action against USC Upstate on Friday at 7 p.m. inside the Chiles Center.