Dec. 28, 2006

Box Score

SAN MARCOS - Texas State guard Brandon Thomas scored 18 points and pulled down six rebounds as Texas State opened a four-game home stand with a 97-78 win over Texas A&M-International Thursday.

Thomas was 8-for-10 from the field, had four steals and three assists before leaving the game in the final minute after an elbow left a cut over his right eye. He will be available for Saturday's game against Centenary.

With the win, Texas State improved to 5-7 while Texas A&M-International dropped to 5-5.

Thomas was one of five Texas State players to score in double figures as the Bobcats shot 50 percent from the field for the first time since their season opener.

Texas A&M-International actually jumped out in front early and held an 18-11 lead with 10:07 to play in the first half. The Bobcats would score seven unanswered to tie the game and later put together a 14-2 run to take a 41-31 lead late in the period. Capping the rally were back-to-back three-pointers by Brandon Bush and Antwoine Blanchard.

Texas State led 41-35 at the break and a 53 percent shooting half which included a 6-of-13 performance from beyond three-point range allowed the Bobcats to stretch their lead in the second period.

The `Cats opened the second period with a 10-2 run but the Dustdevils would keep the game close early in the half by making eight of their first 11 shots of the period. TAMUI shot 59 percent from the field in the period and cut the Bobcats' lead to as few as four points, 67-63 with 10:16 to play.

But the Bobcats would get an offensive rebound and tip-in from Bush and a Blanchard steal would lead to a Bush jumper as Texas State doubled its lead to 71-63 during the next minute of play. The `Cats scored 27 second-chance points and also had 27 points off turnovers.

Bush fell a point shy of having a double-double for the Bobcats, finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds along with four assists, two steals and a block. Blanchard added 14 points, Brent Holder scored 13 while both Chris Agwumaro and George Kiel would finish with 12.

Texas A&M-International would use just eight players with three fouling out. The Dustdevils were whistled for 27 personal fouls. Martell Lewis was 10-of-14 from the field and finished with a game-high 21 points for TAMUI. Five other Dustdevil players would also score in double figures including Chris Swan who had 12 points and eight assists.

Both senior forward Charles Dotson, who had started all 11 previous games, and junior forward Brian Hill, who had seen significant minutes in recent games, have been declared ineligible in did not play in Thursday's game.