Texas State Men’s Basketball Look To Bounce Back Against Mountaineers
When playing in Strahan Coliseum, TXST is 2-1 against the Mountaineers and have won the past two contests.
SAN MARCOS, Texas – After a heartbreaking overtime loss on Thursday night, the Texas State men’s basketball team looks to bounce back on Saturday against Appalachian State. Tip is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. inside Strahan Coliseum.
The Bobcats are 14-10 on the season and 7-4 in the Sun Belt Conference while the Mountaineers sport a 9-15 record and are 4-7 in conference play.
Bill Culhane will have the call on the radio with the game being broadcast on 103.1 FM The Zone out of Austin and KTSW 89.9 FM out of San Marcos. Fans can also listen to the game through the TuneIn Radio apps on their mobile device. Live stats and a video stream will be available for the game with links on the team’s schedule page.
Nijal Pearson is coming off a 16-point performance against Coastal Carolina to increase his scoring average to 14.2 points per game. He leads the team with 41 made three-pointers and 33 steals. After blocking a career-high three shots on Thursday, he is now the third TXST player with double-digit blocks with 11.
Leading TXST in blocked shots this season is Immanuel King with 19. The Rocky Mount, North Carolina native also has team-highs in field goal percentage (58.9) and rebounding (6.3). His 9.3 ppg is the second best on the squad.
Alex Peacock nearly had a double-double versus the Chanticleers with 10 points and nine rebounds. His performance increased his averages to 7.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg. He has made 48.7 percent of his shot attempts, 34.7 percent on three-point tries and 75.4 percent at the free throw line.
Both Tyler Blount (6.8) and Tre’Larenz Nottingham (6.1) are scoring just over six points a contest. Blount has made a team-high 40.0 percent of his three-point shots with 36 total makes. Nottingham is dishing out 2.1 assists per game on the season and has increased it to 3.1 per contest in conference play.
Through Thursday’s games, the Bobcats are allowing the eighth fewest ppg at 62.6 in the nation. The average is also the third lowest among all mid-major programs behind only New Mexico State and Northern Iowa.
Scouting Appalachian State
Appalachian State heads into the weekend having lost two in a row and seven of its last eight. The lone win during that time has been at home over Little Rock, 72-67 in overtime, on Jan. 25. When playing on the road this season, the Mountaineers are 1-10 overall and 1-4 in the Sun Belt. Their lone road conference win was at ULM (79-73) on Jan. 6.
Pacing the team offensively is Ronshad Shabazz at 19.5 ppg, the third highest in the SBC and 55 in the country. He paces APP with 159 made field goals, 61 made three-pointers, 90 made free throws and 3.2 apg. The junior is shooting 40.8 percent from the field, 36.1 percent on three-pointers and 67.2 percent at the charity stripe.
Justin Forrest is the only other Mountaineer in double-figures at 14.1 ppg on 35.9 percent shooting, 31.2 percent from beyond the arc and 67.7 percent at the free throw line. The freshman has made 54 treys and leads all Mountaineers with 30 steals.
Griffin Kinney is shooting a team best 55.7 percent from the field and converting 72.6 percent of his free throw attempts to average 9.2 ppg. He also retrieving 5.4 rpg. Fellow big men Issac Johnson and Tyrell Johnson pace the team with 8.4 rpg and 31 blocks, respectively.
All-Time vs. Mountaineers
The all-time series between Appalachian State and Texas State is tied 4-4. The Bobcats had won three straight until falling in the first meeting this season in Boone, N.C. 66-62. That night saw Pearson score a team-high 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Eric Terry netted a career-high 12 points and Nottingham added 10 points.
When playing in Strahan Coliseum, TXST is 2-1 against the Mountaineers and have won the past two contests. Last time the teams meet in San Marcos was Dec. 31, 2016 in a 67-56 win for the Bobcats behind a game-high 21 points from Kavin Gilder-Tilbury.
For the latest on Texas State men’s basketball, visit the official website of Texas State athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com, follow the team on Instagram and Twitter at @TxStateMBB and like on Facebook at /TexasStateMensBasketball.
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.
Video: http://txstatebobcats.com/
Audio: http://txstatebobcats.com/
PledgeIt 3-Point Challenge: https://pledgeit.org/cvc18-
Game Notes: http://txstatebobcats.com/
