TXST Release:
LAIE, Hawaii – The Texas State men’s basketball team (4-3) took second place in the Patty Mills North Shore Classic after dropping a 72-65 contest to Hawaii (5-1) Saturday night at the Cannon Activities Center.
“You want to win every game but there are lessons in the struggle and tonight was definitely a battle. I think that we showed that we’re battle tested, unfortunately we came short to a well-coached team,” said head coach Terrence Johnson. “Whenever you play on the road you that things may not always go your way. But I thought that we fought back, tried to compete on the glass and take quality shots.”
“We struggled to get within a rhythm within the flow of the game. I thought we had opportunities but credit them and they had a great home court advantage. We came up short, but I like my team and think we’re trending up. I am looking forward to the response.
Mason Harrell led all players with 23 points for his fourth 20-point game in the last four contests as he made 8-of-15 from the field, including both three-point attempts, and was 5-for-7 at the free throw line. The senior also dished out a team-high three assists and recorded two steals.
Also reaching double-figures was Brandon Davis with 12 points with half coming from beyond the arc. The junior guard also recorded two steals and shared the team lead of seven rebounds with Tuongthach Gatkek. Nearly matching his career-high on the night was Brandon Love, who netted nine points.
Both Harrell and Davis were named to the all-tournament team after their performances over the two games.
TXST made 26 field goals and five three-pointers on the night compared to UH’s 23 baskets with six made triples. The difference was the Rainbow Warriors making 20-of-31 free throw attempts while the Bobcats only got to attempt 12 charity stripe shots and made eight.
The Bobcats jumped out to a 5-2 lead after a Love layup and three free throws from Harrell. The Rainbow Warriors responded and behind three treys took a 22-11 advantage at the 8:46 mark.
Jordan Mason deflected a pass and went the other way to lay the ball in for his first collegiate points. That basket kicked started an 18-6 scoring stretch for TXST to end the first 20 minutes to take a 29-28 lead into the break. The run was capped off with a buzzer beating jumper by Harrell.
In the second half, UH built a five-point lead but the Bobcats responded with a 10-4 run to go back ahead with 8:18 remaining with the capper being a Gatkek dunk. That would be the final lead for Texas State as the Rainbow Warriors scored 10 of the next 12 points to take the advantage for the rest of the night.
Next up for the Bobcats is a road trip to Beaumont, Texas to take on Lamar on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. tip.
