Maroon & Gold Weekly Wrap-Up: Men, Women’s Basketball, Baseball, Track & Field Schedule Announced

Maroon & Gold Weekly Wrap-Up:

Men & Women’s Basketball, Baseball,

Track & Field Schedule Announced

Pearson Sparks Bobcats to Portland Classic Title

Released: November 24, 2018
PORTLAND, Ore. Junior Nijal Pearson scored 13 consecutive points for the Texas State men’s basketball team in the first half to spark the Bobcats (5-1) to a 91-68 victory over Portland (5-3) in the Chiles Center to claim the Portland Classic title.

“This was an awesome win. I was impressed with our intensity,” said head coach Danny Kaspar. “We started out over anxious in the first four or five minutes. I was impressed with the way we came back. It was great to see our guys come out to start the second half and put it on them hard.”

The Beaumont, Texas native netted a career-high 33 points, 19 of which came in the first half, on 12-of-18 shooting and was 6-for-9 on three-pointers. He also grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists and recorded three steals to earn the Most Valuable Player award of the tournament.

Pearson moved up to 16th on the TXST career scoring list, passing Jeff Foster and Willie Terrell in the opening period. The junior guard is currently at 1,101 career points and is eight away from matching Dameon Sansom for 15th all-time.

Portland jumped out to an 11-2 lead through the first six minutes. The lone basket for TXST in that span was a layup from Jaylen Shead as the team started 1-of-11 from the field.

Nijal Pearson took over and scored the Bobcats’ next 13 points with three made treys. His third triple cut the deficit to 16-15 with 9:40 showing on the clock.

Texas State appeared to tie the game 40 seconds later when a long attempt from Isaiah Gurley banked in. However during the next media timeout, the refs looked at the replay and saw that his foot was on the line to put the Bobcat behind by one again.

Five consecutive points courtesy of Chandler Davis gave TXST its first lead of the game at 26-25.

After the Pilots scored the next five points, Davis converted the frontend of a one-and-one and Alex Peacock knocked down a shot from beyond the arc to tie the game. Davis then swiped a pass from midcourt and took it all the way for a slam to put Texas State ahead by two with 2:10 left in the half.

Portland retook the lead after netting four straight points. Pearson concluded the scoring in the period with two free throws and hitting a long jumper at the halftime buzzer that was ruled to be a two-pointer as the junior had a toe on the line to send TXST into the half leading 36-34.

The Bobcats opened the second half with a 12-0 run that began and ended with a Nottingham three-pointer. In between TXST converted old-fashion three-point plays with one coming from Terry and another by Perason.

Portland would get as close as 11 following a JoJo Walker triple, but the Bobcats followed by going on a 10-3 run and salted away the win. The largest lead would be 25 after a Mason Harrell three-pointer with just over a minute remaining.

A Portland Classic All-Tournament team selection, Nottingham netted 11 points with three treys and grabbed three rebounds. Also cracking double-figures was Davis off the bench with 10 on 4-of-6 shooting and was 2-for-3 at the charity stripe.

Harrell recorded career-highs of eight points and six assists while committing only one turnover in 24 minutes of action. Playing just nine minutes because of early foul trouble, Terry scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting and grabbed three boards.

Alex Peacock retrieved a game-high seven rebounds and dished out four assists. Alonzo Sule rejected two shots to pace TXST.

Texas State shot over 50 percent from the field (50.7) for the second game in-a-row as they went 34-for-67 with a 20-of-32 performance in the second 20 minutes. The Bobcats made 13 three-pointers, the most under Kaspar and since converting 13 at UT Arlington on Feb. 25, 2012.

Damage was done in second chance points with a 22-13 advantage and off turnovers as TXST forced 13 and scored 19 points off them while limiting the Pilots to just four points off its own.

“So happy for NIjal getting the Most Valuable Player award and Tre making the all-tournament team,” Kaspar said. “Nijal has not only played out outstanding this weekend but kept our guys focused on the task at hand. We hope we will have a great turn out against Rice on Wednesday.”

The Bobcats will take on the Owls at 7 p.m. in Strahan Arena.

Box Score: https://txstatebobcats.com/boxscore.aspx?id=5617&path=mbball


Nottingham and Pearson Lead Bobcats over Spartans

Released: November 23, 2018
PORTLAND, Ore. Senior Tre’Larenz Nottingham and junior NIjal Pearson combined to 43 points in the Texas State men’s basketball team’s 82-50 victory over USC Upstate Friday evening in the Chiles Center as part of the Portland Classic. Nottingham scored a season-high 25 points and Pearson netted 18 with four three-pointers.

The Bobcats improve to 4-1 on the season while the Spartans drop to 1-4.

“It was a good team victory for us as we were able to play everybody,” said head coach Danny Kaspar. “I thought our defense was very good tonight. We need to improve our efficiency on offense if we want to be a championship caliber team. We will keep working on improving in that area so we can hopefully be a strong offensive and defensive team.”

Nottingham scored five of TXST’s first eight points to take an early 8-3 lead. USCU would go on an 8-2 run over a 3:14 span to take its lone lead of the game.

Alonzo Sule hit a jumper in the painter at the 10:38 mark to retake the lead. The Bobcats would close the half on a 29-7 run that was capped off with Pearson converting a layup through contact to beat the halftime buzzer.

The closest that the Spartans would was 14 at the 9:39 mark. That came as they scored eight consecutive points.

Akiem Daschner scored his first career points in a Texas State uniform with 2:40 remaining. He took a deep three-pointer from the right wing that left his hand right before the shot clock expired and ended with the ball swishing through the net.

Nottingham finished the game 7-of-13 from the field with two made treys. He also went 9-for-11 at the charity stripe. The Moreno Valley, California native recorded a game-high and season best four steals, grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists.

Pearson connected on 7-of-12 shot attempts. He grabbed five boards and dished out an assist. The Beaumont, Texas native moved up two spots on the program’s career scoring list. Pearson moved past Emani Gant and Lynwood Wade into 18th-place and currently has 1,068 points.

Leading all players with seven assists was Jaylen Shead. Peacock ended the contest with a game-high five assists and blocked a shot for the second straight contest.

Off the bench, Sule netted eight points on 4-of-7 shooting. The redshirt freshman also grabbed five rebounds with three coming on the offensive glass.

As a team, the Bobcats made 29-of-57 (50.9%) shots, were 8-for-23 (34.8%) from beyond the arc and converted 16-of-22 (72.7%) free throws. They held USCU to 32.7 percent shooting and outrebounded the Spartans 38-28. TXST also forced 20 turnovers and tallied 19 points off of them.

Next up for TXST will be Portland on Saturday with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. CST.

Box Score: https://txstatebobcats.com/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=5616

Portland Classic Continues Against USC Upstate

Released: November 22, 2018
PORTLAND, Ore.The Portland Classic continues for the Texas State men’s basketball team on Friday against USC Upstate at 6:30 p.m. CST in the Chiles Center.

Entering the game, the Bobcats are 3-1 on the season while the Spartans are 1-3 and have lost their last two.

Friday’s contest will air on AM 1300 The Zone, 89.9 FM KTSW and on the TuneIn app with Bill Culhane on the call. There will also be a single-camera video stream provided on YouTube.

ABOUT TEXAS STATE
Texas State is in its 98th season of men’s basketball and the sixth under the guidance of head coach Danny Kaspar. He owns a 77-88 record in his time in San Marcos. His career record stands at 542-282, making him the 24th-winningest active head coach in all of NCAA Division I.

The Bobcats are led by Nijal Pearson, who moved up to 20th on the program’s career scoring list on Wednesday. The junior is averaging 17.8 points per game on 46.6 percent shooting. He has connected on a team best 10-of-22 (45.5%) three-pointers.

Contributing at least nine points a contest is Alex Peacock (9.5) and Eric Terry (9.0). Peacock leads TXST with 9.0 rebounds per game and shares the team lead with seven steals with Jaylen Shead and Pearson. Shead leads the team with 4.0 assists per game and sports a 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Coming off the bench, Alonzo Sule is averaging 5.0 ppg and 1.7 rpg in just nine minutes a game. Quentin Scott is adding 4.0 ppg and 2.8 rpg in nearly 10 minutes of action.

SCOUTING USC UPSTATE
USC Upstate was picked to finish last in the 11-team Big South Conference. The Spartans are under the direction of first-year head coach Dave Dickerson. His only previous head coaching stop was five years at Tulane that ended in 2010 with him compiling a 68-84 record.

Deion Holmes, a Preseason All-Big South Second Team selection, made his season debut on Wednesday against Portland. In 29 minutes off the bench, he scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting and was 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. The senior guard also grabbed six rebounds and had two steals.

Malik Moore is shooting 47.5 percent from the field and a team best 75.0 percent at the free throw line to average 15.0 ppg. He is also grabbing a team-high 6.8 rpg and is second with 11 assists. The senior forward is second on the squad with four made three-pointers along with Jure Span, who paces USCU with 3.5 apg and 2.0 spg, and Bryson Mozone.

Only other player averaging double-digit points is Everette Hammond at 10.8. He has knocked down a team-high five three-pointers at a 37.5 percent clip and is shooting 42.1 percent overall.

Nevin Zink enters making a team-high 63.2 field goal percentage. He is averaging 7.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg in 16.5 minutes per contest.

SERIES HISTORY
Friday will be the first -ever meeting between Texas State and USC Upstate. For the Bobcats, it will be the second meeting against a current Big South opponent. The only other meeting was on Dec. 28, 1979 against Hampton in Eau Claire, Wisconsin that TXST won 70-60.

For more information on the Texas State men’s basketball team, visit the official website of Texas State Athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com, like on Facebook at Texas State Men’s Basketball and follow on Instagram and Twitter at @TxStateMBB.

 

Dominate Second Half Leads Bobcats to Win over Mustangs

Released: November 21, 2018
PORTLAND, Ore.Trailing by seven at halftime after a rough offensive period, the Texas State men’s basketball came back to defeat Cal Poly 54-42 Wednesday evening in the Chiles Center. Nijal Pearson led all players with 22 points, 18 of which came in the final 20 minutes.

With the win, the Bobcats improve to 3-1 on the season while the Mustangs drop to 1-3.

“I thought our players gave great effort on the defensive end all game long,” said head coach Danny Kaspar. “We had a bad first half offensively with turnovers and missing easy shots. We got it going in the second half. I am very happy that Nijal was able to play such a great game on his birthday.”

TXST jumped out to an 8-0 lead that was capped off with a jumper from Isaiah Gurley at the 14:51 mark. Defensively, the Bobcats held CP scoreless until there was 13:46 on the clock when Job Alexander converted two free throws.

Those charity stripe makes would start a 13-0 run for the Mustangs that lasted 9:27 until Pearson knocked down a fadeaway jumper with 5:24 left until halftime. The junior would knock down a long jumper from just inside the arc to cut the deficit to one on the next possession.

CP would go on to score 10 of the final 14 points of the half to take a 23-16 lead into the break. Texas State got a jumper from Alonzo Sule and a layup by Jaylen Shead with four seconds remaining during that span.

Pearson knocked down a three-pointer from the left corner for the opening points of the second half. The basket moved him past Joel Wright for 20th on the program’s career scoring list.

The Bobcats would go on to score 14 of the first 19 points of the second half to take a 30-28 lead that came on a three-pointer courtesy of Pearson. The Mustangs would tie it up their next time down the court with 13:59 showing on the clock.

For the next 8:19, Texas State went on a 17-2 run that was capped off with two treys and a jumper in the paint from Pearson.

CP was able to pull to within nine with 2:30 remaining after six straight points but Shead hit a three-pointer from the right wing to make it a double-digit advantage again. Alex Peacock iced the contest with two free throws with 38.9 left in the contest.

Pearson finished 8-for-16 shooting and knocked down 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. The junior also grabbed a season-high six rebounds, dished out two assists and recorded two steals. He is now up to 1,040 career points and is five shy of tying Emani Gant for 19th-place in program history.

For Peacock, he recorded his second career double-double and the first by a Bobcat this season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Tre’Larenz Nottingham made only one trey on the night but dished out a season-high seven assists, one shy of matching his career best.

As a team, TXST outrebounded the Mustangs 36-22 with an 11-4 edge on the offensive glass. The Bobcats shot 42.3 percent from the field and held CP to 36.6 percent.

Next up for the Bobcats is USC Upstate on Friday at 6:30 p.m. inside the Chiles Center.

For more information on the Texas State men’s basketball team, visit the official website of Texas State Athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com, like on Facebook at Texas State Men’s Basketball and follow on Instagram and Twitter at @TxStateMBB.

Box Score: https://txstatebobcats.com/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=5614

Gamble Joins Track & Field Staff

Release: November 21, 2018
SAN MARCOS, TexasTexas State Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jody Stewart announced the hiring of Austin Gamble as the program’s new throws coach.

“We are excited to add Austin to our staff here at Texas State. Austin stood out during the interview process. He was the right fit for the student-athletes, the coaching staff and the future in rebuilding our throws program,” said Stewart. “Austin was also highly recommended by some of the top throws coaches in the country as one of the premier up and coming throws coaches.”

Gamble was a two-sport athlete at Duke where he graduated with two bachelor’s degrees, one in Evolutionary Anthropology and the other in Visual Arts, in 2014. He was a three-year starter at linebacker for the Blue Devils and helped them reach the 2012 Belk Bowl, the program’s first bowl appearance in 17 years.

With the Duke track and field team, Gamble participated three times in the NCAA Outdoor Championships and earned All-America honors in the discus in 2013. That year also saw him break the school record in the discus at 56.89m (186-8) and go on to earn Outdoor All-ACC honors. As a freshman, the Weston, Florida native claimed the discuss title at the Penn Relays and went on to take third at the ACC Championships to earn all-conference accolades.

Following his time at Duke, Gamble trained at the World Athletics Center in Phoenix for two years under John Godina, a two-time Olympic medalist in the shot put for the United States. Gamble went on to win the 2015 USATF West Regional discus title.

Gamble arrives in San Marcos after spending the past two years as a graduate assistant coach at Hardin-Simmons and earning his Master’s degree in Counseling and Human Development. During his time in Abilene, Texas, he helped the track and field teams record two runner-up finishes at the American Southwest Conference Championships. At the 2017 ASC Championships, Kaelon McLemore scored 21 points to earn all-conference honors.

At HSU, Gamble was also a Student Success Specialist in which he worked as part of Student Life to specifically impact the student-athlete population. He helped organize and facilitate student-athlete focus groups discussing topics from coach/athlete interaction, academic policies and engagement opportunities.

Before his time in Abilene, Gamble was an assistant coach and the strength and conditioning coach at St. John Paul II Academy in Boca Raton, Florida.

For the latest on Texas State track and field, visit the official website of Texas State Athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com and follow the team on Twitter at @TxStateTrack.

TXST Takes on Cal Poly in Portland Classic

Released: November 20, 2018
SAN MARCOS, TexasThe Texas State men’s basketball team travels to Portland, Oregon to conclude the final three games of the Portland Classic. First up on Wednesday is a meeting with Cal Poly at 6:30 p.m. CST at the Chilies Center on the campus of the University of Portland.

The Bobcats enter the game 2-1 after falling at Drake on Saturday while the Mustangs sport a 1-2 record with back-to-back losses to Pac-12 teams Arizona and Washington State.

Tuesday’s contest will air on AM 1300 The Zone, 89.9 FM KTSW and on the TuneIn app with Bill Culhane on the call. There will also be a single-camera video stream provided.

ABOUT TEXAS STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
Texas State is in its 98th season of men’s basketball and the sixth under the guidance of head coach Danny Kaspar. He owns a 76-88 record in his six years in San Marcos. His career record stands at 541-282, making him the 23rd-winningest active head coach in all of NCAA Division I.

The Bobcats are led by Nijal Pearson. The junior became the 22nd player in program history to score 1,000-career points in a TXST uniform in the season opener against Air Force. He is averaging 16.3 points per game and has made 45.2 percent of his shots.

Also putting up at least 10 ppg is Tre’Larenz Nottingham (10.3) and Eric Terry (10.0). Both Alex Peacock and Jaylen Shead are contributing 9.3 ppg with Peacock grabbing a team-high 8.3 rebound per game.

Shead leads the team with 4.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Off the bench, Shelby Adams and Quentin Scott are netting 4.7 ppg, and Chandler Davis is scoring 4.3 ppg after recording a season-high 10 points on Saturday.

SCOUTING CAL POLY
Cal Poly was picked to finish eighth in the 9-team Big West Conference and are under the direction of 10th-year head coach Joe Callero. He has compiled a 121-163 record in his time leading the Mustangs and has a career mark of 260-293 with stops at Puget Sound and Seattle.

Donovan Fields leads the team at 19.7 ppg and has made 46.0 percent from the field. He has also connected on 4-of-10 attempts from beyond the arc and is 9-for-11 at the free throw line. Marcellus Garrick comes in averaging 13.3 ppg and Kuba Niziol is contributing 10.3 ppg and team-highs of 6.7 rpg and 3.7 apg.

Tuukka Jaakkola is grabbing 5.3 rpg off the bench in 20.7 minutes of action. Leading the squad with six blocks and seven offensive boards is Hank Hollingsowrth.

SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday will be the first -ever meeting between Cal Poly and Texas State. For the Bobcats, it will be the eighth current Big West opponent. The only team TXST has yet to play is UC Davis.

For more information on the Texas State men’s basketball team, visit the official website of Texas State Athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com, like on Facebook at Texas State Men’s Basketball and follow on Instagram and Twitter at @TxStateMBB.

2019 Indoor and Outdoor Track Schedule Announced

Released: November 20, 2018
SAN MARCOS, TexasOn Tuesday, Texas State Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jody Stewart announced the 2019 indoor and outdoor schedule. On tap for the 12-meet slate are competitions in Alabama, Louisiana, Nebraska and Virginia.

The indoor meets begin with the Father Diamond Invitational hosted by George Mason on Jan. 5. It will take place at Field House in Fairfax, Virginia.

A week later, TXST heads to College Station, Texas to compete in the Ted Nelson Team Invitational inside the Gilliam Indoor Stadium. The Bobcats will take a weekend off before heading to the Mark Colligan Memorial on the campus of the University of Nebraska.

The following weekend sees the team head to Birmingham, Alabama for the Jaguar Invitational held in the Birmingham CrossPlex. The meet will be a warm-up for the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships that will also take place at the same complex Feb. 18-19. The Texas State women’s program will be going for a three-peat at the conference meet.

Should any Bobcats qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships that takes place Mar. 8-9. It will also be inside the Birmingham CrossPlex.

The outdoor campaign starts Mar. 22-23 just down I-35 in San Antonio at the Roadrunner Invitational. A week later, Texas State hosts the Bobcat Invitational while also sending athletes to compete at the Texas Relays in Austin.

After a short break from the two meets to end March, the Bobcats head to College Station for the Texas A&M Invitational on Apr. 12-13. They then travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the LSU Alumni Gold.

The month of April concludes with the Bobcat Classic in San Marcos on the 26th and 27th.

From May 10-12, the Bobcats will compete at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships on the campus of Arkansas State. Like the indoor championships, the Texas State women’s team will be aiming for its third consecutive conference outdoor title.

The final weekend of May will see qualifying athletes compete at the NCAA West Preliminary meet. It is going to take place in Sacramento, California at Hornet Stadium.

Athletes and relay teams that qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships will head to Austin with the meet taking place June 5-8.

For the latest on Texas State track and field, visit the official website of Texas State Athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com and follow the team on Twitter at @TxStateTrack.

2019 Schedule: https://txstatebobcats.com/schedule.aspx?path=track

PREVIEW: TXST to play archrival UTSA

Released: November 19, 2018
SAN MARCOS, Texas The Texas State women’s basketball team (1-2) will look to get back on the right track against archrival UTSA (2-2) at 7 p.m. on Nov. 20 inside the UTSA Convocation Center.

Texas State enters the matchup on the losing end of two of the first thee games on the schedule. The Bobcats played three tough games as part of the 2018 Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). Texas State toppled Nicholls, but dropped games against New Mexico and Montana State.

ABOUT TEXAS STATE
TXST is led by senior guard Toshua Leavitt. She provides the Bobcats with 19.0 points per night which ranks tied for third in the Sun Belt Conference. She has eclipsed 15 points in all three games and has reached double-figures in 22-consecutive ballgames dating back to the 2017-18 season.

Sophomore forward Jayla Johnson provided the Bobcats with a spark off the bench in the consolation rounds of the preseason WNIT. In consecutive games, Johnson has posted her first two double-figure scoring outputs of her career. In the victory over Nicholls, she scored a career-best 12 points, while she tallied 10 points against Montana State. She leads the Bobcat bench in scoring (8.0 ppg) and rebounds (4.7 rpg).

Freshman guard Ja’Kayla Bowie was inserted into the starting lineup ahead of the Nicholls game. She has scored at least six points in all three games this season, including a season-high of nine points against the Colonels. Bowie has converted 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) shots from the floor and 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) from the free throw.

Junior guard Brooke Holle leads Texas State in rebounding, pulling down 6.3 rebounds per contest. She is also second on the squad in scoring, posting 10.3 points per outing. Holle was named to the preseason All-Sun Belt third team before the season started.

SCOUTING UTSA
The Roadrunners have split four games this season, defeating Concordia and UTRGV and dropping a pair of games in the Seton Hall Tip-off. Junior forward Marie Benson leads UTSA with 19.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. She opened the season with a 29-point and 15-rebound effort against Concordia. She has posted double-figure scoring outputs in all four games this season. Junior forward Tija Hawkins has tallied 12.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Roadrunners.

TEXAS STATE vs. UTSA SERIES HISTORY
The two rivals have met on the hardwood 66 times in their storied past. Each team has walked off the court victoriously on 33 occasions. TXST knotted the series record with a 91-38 thumping on Dec. 5, 2017. Five Bobcats scored in double-figures in the game, including Br. Holle. She scored a game-high 26 points on 8-of-11 shooting and 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point line.

UP NEXT FOR THE BOBCATS
Texas State will be back at home to take on Oral Roberts at noon on Nov. 24 at Strahan Arena. The game will mark the fifth meeting between the two schools. The Golden Eagles have won each of the four previous meetings.

For all things Texas State women’s basketball, be sure to follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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