Men’s Basketball Hosts Rogers State In Exhibition

On Thursday, TXST defeated St. Edward’s 76-64 in an exhibition contest for hurricane recovery efforts.

San Marcos – The Texas State men’s basketball team is back in action on the hardwood Saturday night, Nov. 4, for its second exhibition game. The Bobcats host Rogers State at 7 p.m. in Strahan Coliseum.

On Thursday, TXST defeated St. Edward’s 76-64 in an exhibition contest for hurricane recovery efforts. All proceeds from the game are going to the Jefferson County (TX) United Way (https://www.unitedwaymsjc.org/donate) to benefit the Beaumont, Texas area.

Leading the way for the Bobcats was Nijal Pearson with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Also reaching double-figures was Eric Terry with 16 points. The redshirt sophomore came off the bench to connect on 5-of-7 shot attempts and go 6-for-9 at the free throw line while grabbing six rebounds and blocking two shots.

Netting seven points apiece were Tyler Blount, Tre’Larenz Nottingham and Alex Peacock, who grabbed seven rebounds as well.

Marlin Davis contributed six points on 3-of-4 shooting, retrieved five rebounds, handed out a game-high five assists and recorded two steals.

TXST will be looking to cut down on its fouls and turnovers from Thursday. The team was called for 25 fouls and committed 21 turnovers.

Rogers State, a NCAA Division II program and member of the Heartland Conference, is coming off a 19-10 season and finished tied for fourth in the conference with a 12-6 mark. The Hillcats played Oral Roberts in an exhibition game on Oct. 21 with donations going to the American Red Cross to aid hurricane relief efforts. The Golden Eagles came out on top 54-49.

Last season RSU averaged 76.7 points per game on 45.7 percent shooting, 37.0 percent on three-pointers and made 71.5 percent at the free throw line. Defensively, the Hillcats gave up 70.0 ppg and allowed opponents to make 42.9 percent of their shots and connect on 33.0 percent of three-pointers. 

They return four players from last year in Tavian Davis, Don Leak, Chase Littlejohn and Baron Smith, Jr.

Smith was third on the team last season and is the top returning scorer at 14.0 ppg. He made 40.5 percent of his shots while leading the team with 41.4 three-point shooting percentage. His 41 three-pointers were the second most on the squad.

The senior guard from LaGrange, Georgia finished the year 122-for-162 (75.3%) at the free throw line. Smith led RSU with 3.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

Davis, Leak and Littlejohn were all role players that averaged less than three points a game apiece.

One player on the roster who has experience against the Bobcats is Gage Loy. He played last season at UT Rio Grande Valley before transferring. Against TXST last year in Edinburg, Texas, Loy scored one point, grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists in 19 minutes.

RSU also added Division I transfer Josh Joiner from UIC during the summer. He was a member of the Flames for two seasons but did not see any game action after redshirting in 2015-16 and suffering a season-ending injury prior to the 2016-17 campaign.

Live stats and video will be available for the game. Bill Culhane is on the call as the contest will be broadcast on AM 1300 The Zone and KTSW 89.9 FM. Fans outside of the listening area can also hear the game via the iHeartRadio app on mobile devices and finding the AM 1300 The Zone station.

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.com/broadcast/?id=191266

Video: http://www.txstatebobcats.com/watch/?Live=1376&type=Live