Last Second Shot Downs Bobcats In Overtime

It was the first overtime game for the Bobcats since Mar. 2, 2017, at Louisiana. The last time TXST played an extra period at home was on Jan. 21, 2016, against Little Rock…

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men’s basketball team battled with Coastal Carolina Thursday night in Strahan Coliseum. However, a short jumper with 1.3 seconds left in overtime game the Chanticleers a 56-54 win in front of 2,278 fans.

With the loss, the Bobcats drop to 14-10 overall and 7-4 in the Sun Belt Conference while CCU is now 11-13 on the season and 5-6 in conference play.

A 6-0 run for TXST that was capped off by a steal and layup courtesy of Tre’Larenz Nottingham put the Bobcats in the lead 33-28 with 14:54 left in regulation. That would be the last made field goal for TXST until 2:07 was remaining on the clock.

During that stretch, all of the Bobcats’ 12 points came at the free throw line. The defense was able to keep the Chanticleers to 19 points in that time to trail by just two.

Nijal Pearson missed his second free throw attempt at the 2:13 mark but the rebound was grabbed Alex Peacock. The junior then found Immanuel King for a layup to tie the contest at 47.

CCU’s Jaylen Shaw made a tough layup with 54 seconds to go to put the visitors back in front. On the following possession, Nottingham drove to the basket and was able to avoid a block attempt to get a layup to drop and knot the score again. Shaw had a chance to win the game in regulation but his jumper bounced around the rim and away with Peacock grabbing the board to send the contest to overtime.

The Bobcats fell behind 54-51 after an Ajay Sanders three-pointer with 2:17 remaining. King went 1-for-2 at the free throw line to cut the deficit to one on the very next time down the court. Pearson then tied the game at 54-54 when two more free throws at the 1:05 mark.

After forcing a tough three-pointer that was off the mark and saw Peacock grab the rebound, TXST called timeout with 37 seconds to go. On the ensuing play, the ball found its way to Peacock at the top of the arc just like at Little Rock. He drove to the basket after not being able to shake the defender and was trapped by two defenders.

While trying to find an open teammate to pass the ball to, the forward appeared to be bumped by a CCU player but was instead called for a travel with 23.4 seconds left in the game.

Shaw drove the right side of the lane and appeared to be trapped by King and Nottingham. However, he found Demario Beck for a short jump that went through the hoop with 1.3 seconds showing on the clock.

Pearson got a desperation heavy off near midcourt by the left sideline before the horn sound. His attempt was on target but fell just short.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Tyler Blount and Peacock opened the scoring in the contest. After CCU answered with two treys of its own, TXST scored seven of the next 11 points to go up 13-8.

A three-pointer by Nedeljko Prijovic and an 18-foot jumper from Blount extended the lead to 21-14 with 5:29 left in the period. The Chanticleers responded with a 10-0 that was snapped when Pearson hit a long jumper with 1:57 left on the clock. His basket would be the final for either team as CCU took a 24-23 advantage into halftime.

Pearson led all players with 16 points thanks to a 7-for-8 performance at the charity stripe. He also grabbed three rebounds, set a new career-high with three blocks and recorded two steals.

Both Blount and Peacock finished with 10 points each. Blount was 4-of-7 from the field with a made three-pointer along with a career best three steals and his first career rejection. Peacock just missed a double-double after retrieving nine rebounds.

Nottingham dished out a game-high five assists and had two steals.

It was the first overtime game for the Bobcats since Mar. 2, 2017, at Louisiana. The last time TXST played an extra period at home was on Jan. 21, 2016, against Little Rock that saw the visitors also come away with a win on last second shot.

The Bobcats close out the weekend homestand on Saturday against Appalachian State. Tip is slated for 4:30 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 Instagram and Twitter at @TxStateMBB and like on Facebook at /TexasStateMensBasketball. 

Box Score: http://txstatebobcats.com/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=5182