Bobcats Surpass The Eagles In a Close Call

By Mark Brown
Assistant Sports Director

They say when one begins the new year with positivity, nothing but blessings shall return. Guess what? The Texas State Men’s basketball team already jump-started the year with a 73-70 win over the Georgia Southern Eagles at their home court! With the Bobcats now 1-0 in conference play, I guarantee blessings will shower down on Bobcat fans very soon.

The team is now 12-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play as they kick start a tremendous amount of hope in the upcoming games. Head coach Danny Kaspar has high expectations of his players as they continue to march on in the historic 2018-2019 season journey. Both the men and women’s teams defeated the Eagles.

The Bobcats led the Eagles 43-37 at half. Texas State extended the lead to 53-41, with 17:26 remaining in the second half. Senior guard Tre’Larenz Nottingham knocked down eight points after junior forward Eric Terry scored a layup on an assist from superstar Nijal Pearson.

As the Eagles closed the gap 60-54, Nottingham drained a pair of three-point shots and Pearson scored two more points to give the Bobcats a 68-54 lead with 8:29 left to play. Georgia Southern retaliated with seven straight points to cut Texas State’s lead to seven. Nottingham’s layup gave the Bobcats a 72-63 lead with 3:03 left to play.

Georgia Southern rallied back to 73-70 with 20 seconds remaining on the clock. The Eagles fouled Jaylen Shead on Texas State’s next possession, but he missed both free throws, giving Georgia Southern a chance to tie the score. However, three Eagle players all missed a three-point shot in the final seconds as the Bobcats secured the dub.

A handful of players destroyed the leaderboards with stats in tonight’s match up. Nottingham ripped the boards with 24 points, two rebounds, and two assists. Eric Terry harnessed 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Alex Peacock recorded his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Pearson logged a career-high 14 rebounds alongside his six points to aid the Bobcats in their latest Sun Belt victory.

Next up the Bobcats will stay put in San Marcos as they hold a showdown with the Georgia State Panthers this Saturday at 4 pm. Tune in to KTSW 89.9 for more!