Press Release:
MOBILE, Ala. – For the second year in a row, Texas State men’s basketball won the regular season Sun Belt Conference championship after the Bobcats fought back to beat South Alabama on the road, 55-52, at Mitchell Center on Wednesday.
Texas State (20-6, 11-3 Sun Belt) clinched the No. 1 seed for next week’s Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship in Pensacola, Fla. with the win. The victory was also its eighth straight, tied for the Bobcats’ longest winning streak of the season.
The Bobcats have now won 20 games in a season for the fourth time in the last six years.
Texas State trailed for nearly 16 of the first 17 minutes of the second half, but a 7-0 burst ignited by a Drue Drinnon jumper with three-and-a-half minutes remaining placed the Bobcats in the lead. After a second-chance dunk by Isiah Small tied it at 47-all, Drinnon added a three-pointer to make it 50-47 with less than two minutes left.
After South Alabama (18-10, 8-7 Sun Belt) evened it at 50-50, a desperation three-pointer by Caleb Asberry as the shot clock was winding down gave the Bobcats their decisive advantage. The shot by Asberry, one of his trio of three-pointers in the game, was originally ruled a two-pointer but a long video review deemed it beyond the arc.
Texas State went on to surrender a putback dunk by Javon Franklin that made it 53-52 Texas State with 12 seconds to go, but Mason Harrell sunk both of his free throw attempts on the other side to help seal the Bobcats’ sixth true road win of the year.
The Bobcats were only 5-of-12 at the free throw line, after entering the night leading the Sun Belt in free throw percentage (77% for the season).
Harrell matched Nighael Ceasar for the team lead in scoring with 11 points. Ceasar finished with a double-double as he had a season-high 12 rebounds.
Texas State outrebounded South Alabama, 41-36. The Bobcats collected 18 offensive rebounds to the Jaguars’ 10.
Small had nine rebounds to go with his eight points while Asberry and Tyrel Morgan each had six.
The Bobcats limited South Alabama to shoot 39% from the field (20-of-51) and 30% from three (7-of-23).
The game featured 10 lead changes and six ties.
Texas State closes out the regular season on Friday at Troy. The 8 p.m. CT game will be broadcast on ESPN2. The Bobcats will be aiming for 12 wins in conference play for the fourth year in a row.
NOTES
This marks the first time since 1978-79 that Texas State has posted two separate winning streaks of eight games in the same season.
It is also the longest winning streak in regular season conference play since 1978-79 (9 straight wins).
Texas State has won 19 straight in the month of February.
Wednesday was the first matchup against South Alabama in nearly two years (March 3, 2020).
The loss was only South Alabama’s second at home this season.
