Bobcats Dominate Following Ten Day Layover

By Tyson Taylor 

KTSW Sports Reporter 

It has been ten long days since the Texas State Bobcats have last taken the hardwood. Their last exhibition ended with a loss to the No. 19 Texas Longhorns with a final score of 77-58. The final score ended with a 19 point difference, but the Bobcats without a doubt put a scare into the highly talented Longhorns. The Bobcats returned to their home court to face off with the Jarvis Christian Bulldogs. The Bobcats were able to come out with a win in this matchup with final score of 107-58.  

The 10 day break caused a little bit of rust for the Bobcats in the first half. They played fairly well on the defensive end, but only managed to put up 36 points through 20 minutes. The Bobcats started the game with three straight made field goals, but the rust would come to show shortly after. Following the three field goals, the Bobcats struggled from the field as they would only make two of their next 16 shots. Free throws and stout defense were the key to the Bobcats lead after the first half. The Bobcats headed into the second half leading 36-24.  

The second half was a completely different ballgame for both teams. The Bobcats came out with a hunger to score the basketball and a very high intensity on both ends. Over the course of the first nine minutes within the second half, the Bobcats went on a 40-8 run to put the nail in the coffin. Everyone was getting involved as all nine Bobcat players saw meaningful minutes on the floor. The Bobcats scored 71 points in the second half, which was two points shy of tying the program record for most points scored in a half. Quality shooting and scrappy defense led the Bobcats to a 107-58 victory over the Jarvis Christian Bulldogs.  

Jordan Mason led all scores with 20 points along with 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. Seven players from the Bobcats recorded double-digit scoring numbers. Dylan Dawson and Elijah Tate scored 13 points apiece. Brandon Love recorded 12 points, and Joshua O’Garro had 10 points of his own. The Bobcats finished the night going 36-68 (52.9%) from the field, and shooting 79% from the free thow line. On the defensive end, the Bobcats caused 24 turnovers for the Bulldogs with 15 of those coming from steals.  

Bobcat Head Coach Terrence Johnson had some words to say following the dominant performance. 

“It’s been a long layoff, so I figured we would have some rust starting out,” said Johnson. “We still got a ways to go with everything we’re trying accomplish here, but today was a step in the right direction.” 

Coach Johnson discussed how the Bobcats are getting ready in preparation for their tough schedule coming up.  

“We can’t overlook Sam Houston, that’s an extremely talented group and very well coached,” said Johnson. “We got to get better at a lot of different things. We got to get better defensively, get a little bit tougher, and got to execute better. First things first though, we’re going to enjoy this one.”