Men’s Basketball Hosts Chanticleers Thursday Night
In the first meeting this season on New Year’s Eve, the Bobcats won 53-48 thanks in part to CCU going 1-for-17 on three-point attempts.
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men’s basketball team is back home in Strahan Coliseum for two games this weekend beginning with Coastal Carolina at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Entering the game, the Bobcats are 14-9 on the season and in third place in the Sun Belt Conference with a 7-3 mark. The Chanticleers are 10-13 overall and 4-6 in conference play.
Bill Culhane will have the call on the radio with the game being broadcast on AM1300 The Zone out of Austin and KTSW 89.9 FM out of San Marcos. Fans can also listen to the game through the iHeartRadio and TuneIn Radio apps on their mobile device. Live stats and a video stream will be available for the game with links on the team’s schedule page.
Nijal Pearson paces TXST in scoring (14.1), made three-pointers (40), and steals (31). He is second on the team with 6.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
First for the Bobcats in rebounding (6.3), field goal percentage (59.1) and blocks (19), and second in scoring (9.5) is Immanuel King. The senior has blocked 57 shots in his career that places him seventh in school history. He is one shy of tying Lynwood Wade (1992-94) for sixth place.
Alex Peacock comes into the game contributing 7.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. The Bloomington, Illinois native has converted 74.5 percent of his free throw attempts, 49.1 percent of his shots and 34.1 percent from beyond the arc. He has also recorded 27 steals.
Both Tyler Blount (6.7) and Tre’Larenz Nottingham (6.1) are scoring just over six points a contest. Blount has made a team-high 40.7 percent of his three-point shots. Nottingham has increased his scoring average to 9.1 ppg in conference action in part to take over the starting point guard spot six games ago.
The Bobcats enter the game allowing the 10th fewest ppg at 62.7 in the country. The average is also the fifth lowest among all mid-major programs.
Scouting Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina comes into San Marcos on a three-game winning streak. Last weekend the Chanticleers defeated Arkansas State and Little Rock at home. When playing on the road, they are 2-5 with a 1-3 mark against Sun Belt foes. Their two road victories were against Hampton on Dec. 6 and Troy on Jan. 20.
Four players are averaging double figures led by Zac Cuthbertson at 15.5 ppg. He also paces CCU in made free throws (108), free throw attempts (139) and free throw percentage (77.7). The junior has also recorded 6.5 rpg, 23 steals and 19 blocks.
The engine of the offense is Jaylen Shaw. The senior point guard is averaging 15.0 ppg and 5.6 apg, the second most in the SBC and 34th in the nation. His 39 steals rank fourth in the conference and 66th in all of Division I.
Artur Labinowicz is netting 10.7 ppg and has made a team best 36 three-pointers. He has made 38.9 percent of his shot attempts and 34.3 percent from beyond the arc. Adding 10.6 ppg is Demario Beck, who leads the Chanticleers in field goal percentage (57.1), rebounding (7.3) and blocks (20).
Connecting on 38.5 percent of his long distance attempts this season has been Ajay Sanders. Of his 44 made field goals, 30 have been three-pointers.
As a team, CCU is 15th in the nation in rebounding margin (+7.4), 23rd in total rebounds (902), 40th in rebounds per game (39.22) and 43rd in offensive rebounds per game (12.43).
All-Time vs. Chanticleers
Texas State leads the all-time series over Coastal Carolina 3-1. The Bobcats have won the last two meetings with both coming on the road. When playing in Strahan Coliseum, TXST is 0-1 after the Chanticleers won 60-53 on Jan. 2, 2017. That game saw Kavin Gilder-Tilbury score a game-high 18 points and King finished with nine points and six rebounds.
In the first meeting this season on New Year’s Eve, the Bobcats won 53-48 thanks in part to CCU going 1-for-17 on three-point attempts. The victory was the first of six straight for TXST. On that afternoon, Pearson netted a game-high 15 points and Blount contributed 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half.
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.
Video: http://txstatebobcats.com/
Audio: http://txstatebobcats.com/
PledgeIt 3-Point Challenge: https://pledgeit.org/cvc18-
Game Notes: http://txstatebobcats.com/
