Gilder-Tilbury and Pearson Lead Texas State Men’s Basketball to Victory over McNeese State

SAN MARCOS, Texas – For the second time this season, Kavin Gilder-Tilbury and Nijal Pearson both scored 20-plus points in the same game as the duo helped lead the Texas State men’s basketball team to an 80-68 victory over McNeese State Tuesday night in Strahan Coliseum. They combined for 44 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists on the night.

The Bobcats snapped a two-game losing streak with the victory to improve to 3-3 on the season while the Cowboys fall to 2-4.

After McNeese opened the game with a layup, Gilder-Tilbury nailed a three-pointer to kick-start an 11-0 run for Texas State over the next 3:13. The Cowboys countered with a 14-4 run that was capped off by two free throw from Jamaya Burr.

Tyler Blount got a friendly bounce on a three-point attempt from the right corner at the 9:03 mark to put the Bobcats back in front. Texas State would not relinquish the lead the rest of the game and took a 19-point advantage into halftime following a layup from Gilder-Tilbury with 38 seconds remaining in the period.

A 9-2 run to start the second half gave the Bobcats their largest lead of the game at 52-28 after Bobby Conley converted a fastbreak layup that was started by a steal on the other end courtesy of Ojai Black.

McNeese shot the ball well in the second half, going 15-for-31 from the field, to cut its deficit to 10 twice. The last time was after a free throw by Burr with 55 seconds left on the clock. Two free throws by Black and a fastbreak layup by Gilder-Tilbury quelled any chance of a late come by from the Cowboys.

Pearson led all players with a career-high 23 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. He finished the game 8-of-15 from the field and converted 6-of-9 at the charity stripe.

Gilder-Tilbury scored 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting, was 2-for-5 from beyond the arc and nailed 7-of-8 of his free throw attempts. The senior also had seven boards and blocked a shot.

Recording an 8-point, 6-assist, 2-steal performance was Black. Maljhum McCrea finished with seven points and six rebounds and Conley set a new career-high with three steals.

Texas State is back in action on Thursday in Strahan Coliseum. The Bobcats host Oklahoma Panhandle State with the tip set for 7 p.m.

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 Twitter at @TxStateMBB, Instagram at @TxStateMBB and like on Facebook at /TexasStateMensBasketball.

Box Score: http://txstatebobcats.com/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=4733