Pearson Named Lou Henson And Sun Belt Players Of The Week

The Beaumont native opened the week with a 25-point game against the Owls in which he knocked down 9-of-16 shots, was 5-for-9 from beyond the arc and converted both free throw attempts.

BOSTON and NEW ORLEANS – Big performances from Texas State’s Nijal Pearson were rewarded with him being named both the Lou Henson Award National Player of the Week and the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Monday.
 
Pearson is the first-ever Texas State player to be recognized for the weekly Lou Henson award given to the nation’s top mid-major player in Division I college basketball.

He also picked up his second straight Sun Belt weekly accolade to become the first player to do so in the conference since Louisiana’s Shawn Long in Dec. 16, 2014, and Jan. 5, 2015, and first in back-to-back weeks since North Texas’ Tony Mitchell on Jan. 16 and 23, 2012.
 
The junior guard averaged 25.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game as the Bobcats defeated Rice 74-60 at home and UTSA 69-68 on the road. He has helped the team to a 7-1 record, the best start in program history in the last 38 years.
 
Pearson was 19-for-37 (51.4 percent) from the field, including 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) on three-pointers. He ended the week having scored 25 or more points in three consecutive games.
 
The Beaumont native opened the week with a 25-point game against the Owls in which he knocked down 9-of-16 shots, was 5-for-9 from beyond the arc and converted both free throw attempts. The junior also grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists and recorded a steal.
 
On Saturday at I-35 rival UTSA, Pearson netted 26 points, including 14 in the first half that accounted for half of the Bobcats’ total. He was 10-for-21 shooting and knocked down 5-of-10 long range attempts while also grabbing a season-high seven boards.
 
With 13 seconds left on the clock against the Roadrunners, Pearson made his final three-pointer of the contest to tie the game at 68. He followed with a block on a put-back attempt on the ensuing defensive possession that helped lead to Jaylen Shead being fouled and knocking down the game-winning free throw.
 
2018-19 Lou Henson Award National Player of the Week
Dec. 3: Nijal Pearson (Texas State)
Nov. 26: Nathan Knight (William & Mary)
Nov. 19: Jordan Lyons (Furman)
Nov. 12: A.J. Brodeur (Penn)
 
2018-19 Sun Belt Player of the Week
Dec. 3: Nijal Pearson (Texas State)
Nov. 27: Nijal Pearson (Texas State)
Nov. 20: Tookie Brown (Georgia Southern)
Nov. 13: D’Marcus Simonds (Georgia State)
 
TXST returns to the hardwood on Wednesday. The Bobcats will travel to take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 7 p.m. inside the American Bank 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.