Pearson Nets 17 In Bobcats’ Loss At Georgia State

“We have to come together and get back to our winning ways that we showed before coming on this road trip.” said Danny Kaspar, head coach.

ATLANTA – Freshman Nijal Pearson netted a team-high 17 points, but the Texas State men’s basketball fell to Georgia State 67-51 Monday night in the GSU Sports Arena.

The Beaumont, Texas native made 7-of-11 shots and grabbed five rebounds.

The Bobcats dropped to 15-11 on the season and 8-6 in the Sun Belt Conference while the Panthers are now 17-10 overall and 10-5 in conference play.

“This was a very disappointing finish to a game that we were competing in for the first 30 minutes,” said head coach Danny Kaspar. “We have to come together and get back to our winning ways that we showed before coming on this road trip.”

Layups by Ojai Black and Immanuel King gave Texas State a 4-0 lead just over a minute and a half into the game. A three-pointer from Pearson gave the Bobcats their biggest lead of the half at 10-5 with 13:39 showing on the clock.

A 7-0 run over 1:43 put GSU in front by four a little over halfway through the first half. Pearson ended the run with a mid-range jumper.

After the Panthers answered on their next possession, Pearson hit another jumper to kick start an 8-0 run that lasted 3:39.

GSU closed the half on a 6-0 run as the Bobcats were held scoreless over the final 3:41.

Both teams started out hot shooting the ball over the first four minutes of the second half.

The Bobcats began by going 4-for-6 from the field with Kavin Gilder-Tilbury knocking down back-to-back three-pointers. However, the Panthers made 5-of-7 shots and converted their lone free throw attempt.

Down by six, Black drove the lane for a layup attempt and was hacked. However, no foul was called and GSU went the other way for a quick bucket and start an 8-0 run.

A tip-in by Gilder-Tilbury followed a minute later with a layup from the senior cut the deficit to 51-43 with 6:44 remaining. The Panthers responded with seven straight points to end any hope of a Texas State comeback.

Gilder-Tilbury knotted his 15 straight game of double-digit points with 12 with 10 coming over the final 20 minutes.

Also reaching double figures was Black with 10 points as he made 5-of-7 shot attempts. The senior duo also dished out a team-high three assists apiece.

The Bobcats made 21-of-49 (42.9%) from the field with a 12-for-24 performance in the second half.

Defensively, Texas State held GSU in check in the first half going 9-for-22 (40.9%) but the Panthers knocked down 18-of-26 (69.2%) attempts over the last 20 minutes with five three-pointers.

Leading the way for the home squad was D’Marcus Simonds with 18 points while Jeremy Hollowell added 16 and Devin Mitchell contributed 14 off the bench.

Next up for the Bobcats is Troy on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in Strahan Coliseum to start the final home weekend of the season.

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=4753