Bobcats suffer defeat at home to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns

By: Osmara Valles

KTSW Reporter

SAN MARCOS, Texas– The Texas State Bobcats surrendered a home-loss to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns with a final score of 70-61.  

On Jan. 23, the Bobcats and ULL matched up for the first of two times this season. The first result ended in an 89-74 victory for Texas State.  

Unfortunately, this performance would not translate on their home court for Texas State who looked to bounce-back from a recent loss to Arkansas State. 

With a strong start in the beginning of the first half resulting in a quick 5-0 start, the Bobcats were filled with energy and intensity. Texas State maintained their momentum and aggressiveness to score in the paint. 

The Ragin’ Cajuns were struggling in the beginning stages of the game, trying to keep up with the Bobcats. ULL began to settle in and play efficiently, resulting in a flip of momentum. With 6:44 remaining in the first half, a 10-point Texas State lead was cut down to a three-point lead, 23-20.  

With another scoring run to end the first half, the Ragin’ Cajuns led 33-27 lead over Texas State at the halftime break. 

The Bobcats searched for momentum to begin the second half. The Ragin’ Cajuns stingy defense made this a hard task for the Bobcats’ offense to overcome.  

Sophomore guard Kaden Gumbs led the Bobcats with 17 points for the night, converting on  100% of his attempted free throws. Gumbs left it all on the court to come out victorious in this matchup.  

Throughout the second half, neither team could pull away from each other, resulting in a close matchup down the stretch. With 13:37 remaining in the second half, the score remained tied at 38-38. 

Louisiana increased their lead over Texas State going into the final minutes of the ball game. The Bobcats did not respond to ULL’s scoring runs as well as they did in the second half. With just 7:13 left in the ball game, the Ragin’ Cajuns held a 56-48 lead over the maroon and gold. 

Head coach Terrence Johnson stated that the “more connected team” won tonight’s game. 

Johnson believed that there was a sense of disconnect within the Bobcats as they played tonight which resulted in a loss. “We were our worst enemy tonight,” said Johnson.  

Being asked on what is their next move going into their next game against the Arkansas State Red Wolves, they’re going to do some “soul searching.” 

According to Johnson, acceptance is the key aspect to re-collecting one another and recognizing what occurred throughout the game. With such a high-ranked contender headed for the Bobcats, the team will be looking for ways to bounce back after tonight’s game. 

Texas State falls to a 12-10 record on the season while ULL improves to 7-15.

The Bobcats are looking to bounce back and regroup all together for their next game at home. 

The number one seed in the Sun Belt Conference, the Arkansas State Red Wolves, will travel to San Marcos to and matchup against the Texas State Bobcats. The matchup will be at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1 inside Strahan Arena.