CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas– After a tightly contested first half, Texas State outscored Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 40-30 in the second half to secure its first road win of the season, 75-63 on Saturday afternoon at the American Bank Center.
For the second consecutive game, the Bobcats (2-0) shot over 50.0 percent from the floor and finished with a season-high 54.2 percent from the field (26-of-48) and was 6-of-10 from 3-point range. The Islanders (1-1) were held to 16-of-47 shooting (34.0 percent) and was 7-of-27 from behind the arc (25.9 percent).
“I thought our guys competed from start to finish,” said interim head coach Terrence Johnson. “I was proud of our ability to play through our mistakes and I felt our bench production was the story of the game. Everyone contributed and no one cared who got the credit. Road wins are not easy to come by We will enjoy this for the moment and get to work on Mississippi State tomorrow. We will need to play hard, if not harder, but smarter if we want to beat Mississippi State.”
Junior guard Mason Harrell posted a season-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including two made 3-point field goals. Harrell also had two assists, two steals, and two rebounds. Junior guard Alonzo Sule followed with 14 points (4-of-8) and was 6-of-7 at the charity stripe. Sule also added two rebounds, an assist, and a block. Junior guard Caleb Asberry rounded out the top scorers for the Bobcats with 12 points and was a perfect 4-of-4 from deep (4-of-6 overall). Asberry finished with four rebounds and two steals.
Senior guard Myles Smith led the Islanders with 13 points (5-of-12) and concluded with a game-high four steals, added four rebounds and handed out one assist. Junior guard Rasheed Browne followed with 11 points (3-of-8) and led all players with eight rebounds. He also had three assists and two steals.
FIRST HALF
Both teams struggled to get in a rhythm offensively as they combined for 3-of-12 shooting by the 15:22 mark. The Bobcats found some success however, and used an 8-1 run to go ahead 10-6 and had a 15-11 advantage with 11:26 on the clock. The Islanders chipped away at the lead by converting on free-throws, and took a 25-24 lead behind a Browne triple to cap a 7-2 run. After the media timeout with 6:55 on the clock, TAMUCC stretched its run to 11-2 and held a 29-26 lead by the final media timeout of the half. The Bobcats closed the half strong with a 9-4 run however, sparked by a three-point play by Harrell, and the visiting team went into halftime with a 35-33 lead. Harrell and Sule led the Bobcats with eight points each. Although TXST shot 51.9 percent from the floor (14-of-27), they struggled at the free throw line shooting 4-of-8, while TAMUCC was 13-of-16 at the stripe (81.3 percent).
SECOND HALF
Texas State had early foul trouble in its front court, but true freshman, Nate Martin came in and scored four straight points, and moments later, a jumper from senior guard Shelby Adams gave the Bobcats a 47-40 lead. The Bobcats extended their lead to 11 points at 53-42 after a pair of 3-pointers from Asberry and held a 57-48 lead at the 7:28 media timeout. Although the Islanders cut the lead down to single digits, Davis scored a layup to bring the margin back to double figures at 61-50, and it would stay that way for the remainder of the game as Texas State held on to its lead through the entire second half.
NOTEABLES
• Texas State led by as many as 16 points in the game (72-56).
• In the second half, TXST was 13-0f-16 at the stripe (81.3) and was 8-of-8 at one point. TAMUCC dropped to 55.0 percent (11-of-20).
• The Bobcats dominated in points of the bench (31-21) and held the advantage in points in the paint (20-16) and points off turnovers (15-13).
• Junior forward Nighael Ceasar had nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. He also had four rebounds.
• Senior guard Shelby Adams had eight points in the when and led the Bobcats with two blocks to go along with three rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
• Senior forward Isiah Small led the team with six rebounds and three assists. He also had one block.
• Freshman forward Nate Martin concluded the contest with four points, two rebounds, and one assist in the second half.
• Asberry’s four made 3-pointers is a new career-high in a single game.
• Texas State is now 9-10 in the all-time series vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and is currently on a three-game winning streak. The two teams will play one more time this season at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at Strahan Arena in San Marcos, Texas.
UP NEXT
Texas State challenges SEC member Mississippi State at 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 30 at the Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Miss.
