Nov. 22, 2006

Box Score

SAN MARCOS - Rashad Jones-Jennings scored a game-high 25 points and fell two shy of a Strahan Coliseum record with 20 rebounds, as Arkansas-Little Rock dropped Texas State 83-77 Wednesday at Strahan Coliseum.

Texas State (1-3) was led by Charles Dotson's 16 points and Brandon Thomas' seven boards, and Matt Fullenwider joined the double-digit scoring list with 12 in the game.

Arkansas-Little Rock (3-2) used a five-minute run to open an early lead, outscoring Texas State 13-0 from the 17:19 mark to go up 19-5 with 12:20 left in the half. Texas State trimmed the lead to 10 with just under 11:00, and a 7-0 Bobcat run got the Bobcats back in striking distance with 7:18 remaining at 22-19.

Fullenwider cut UALR's lead to one with 5:23 left on a three from the right side of the floor, and 1:32 later with 3:51 to go, Brent Holder tied it with a 3-point basket that made the score 27-27.

Holder put the `Cats on top 34-31 two possessions later with 2:13 to go in the first, draining a second three from the right side, and Antwoine Blanchard added to the advantage with less than a minute left, hitting a three from the left corner to go up 37-33.

Texas State went into the break up 37-34, but the Trojans responded to their first-half ending drought with a 6-0 run to open the second, going up 41-37 on an Akins 3-pointer with 17:50 left.

Texas State clawed back as the game approached 15:00, as Brandon Thomas converted a 3-point play to tie the game at 44-44, and Chris Agwumaro put Texas State up with 14:20 left on a jumper that made the score 46-44. Fullenwider capped the 9-2 run a possession later with a lay-up, as Texas State took a 48-44 lead with 13:46 left.

UALR got a five-point swing after tying the game at 49-49, as Eggins drained a UALR three and Texas State was whistled for a foul under the bucket. Malone hit both free throws on the one-and-one try, putting the Trojans up 54-49 with 10:33 to go.

Texas State trailed 58-52 after a Fullenwider three with 9:48 remaining, but the Trojans piled on the next eight points as the clock slipped below 8:00 with UALR up 66-52. The Bobcats cut the lead back to single digits inside the 7:00 mark, and Brandon Bush got the `Cats inside four with 3:41 left, slashing the lead to 73-69 on a baseline jumper from the left side.

The Trojans managed to hold off the Bobcat run in the game's final minutes, allowing Texas State to get no closer than four and finishing the game on a 4-2 run to claim the six-point win. UALR outscored Texas State 49-40 in the second half, hitting 4-of-6 from the arc in the half.

Texas State returns to action Saturday, hitting the road for a 7 p.m. contest at North Texas. The `Cats return home next Wednesday, taking on Alcorn State in a 7:30 tip at Strahan Coliseum.