Jan. 19, 2008

Final Stats

SAN MARCOS - Brent Benson sank 9-10 free throws, went 4-10 from the field and 3-8 from beyond the arc in a record-breaking night at Strahan Coliseum to aid the Texas State Bobcats to a 93-84 victory over Nicholls State Saturday. With the win, the `Cats shift to an even 2-2 Southland Conference record and 9-8 overall.

Play commenced with an avid shooting effort from both ends of the court, but four consecutive field goals from Nicholls State granted the foe the first large margin of the game, posting a seven-point advantage over the `Cats, 14-7.

Brent Holder fronted the next progression, draining a three-pointer fresh from the bench to signal at maroon and white comeback. After two-straight Nicholls State turnovers Benson followed Holder's lead for not one but three successive buckets beyond the arc to put Texas State back on top 19-16.

Ryan Bathie replied with his own long-range shot allowing Nicholls State to moved ahead with a 30-24 lead over Texas State. Holder chipped away three points for his second basket in a retaliating effort, but Texas State could not stop Nicholls State from posting a 45-40 lead into the break.

Benson and Holder tallied 12 and 9 points respectively in the half and Texas State went 8-16 from the charity stripe. The squad was whistled for a low eight fouls in the half to NSU's 12.

The second half was highlighted by an 11-point outing from senior Matt Fullenwider. He opened with seven points within the first three minutes of scoring to give Texas State a 53-49 lead over NSU. The final half saw two ties and three lead changes, with Texas State leading by as many as 12 points for its largest margin, an 85-73 lead over Nicholls State.

In the final two minutes of the game, Texas State connected on a stellar 14-16 shots from the free throw line to aid the victory.

For the game, Texas State went 43.3 percent from the field (26-60), falling below a 46.2 percent shooting squad from Nicholls State. A two-team record set in February 2007 in a decision against Texas-Arlington saw a combined 56 attempts from the three-point line. Texas State and Nicholls combined for 63 attempts in tonight's contest, shattering the old record, finishing with 11-29 and 12-34, respectively.

The `Cats brought down 43 rebounds over NSU's 39 total boards and finished with 13 turnovers, five less than the Colonels.

Benson finished with a game-high 20 points and Holder notched a season-high 15 points, going 4-9 from the field and three-point range, while sinking 3-4 free throws. Fullenwider posted 14 points and Brandon Bush added 11 points for the Bobcats.

Cameron Johnson and Brandon Thomas shared the top rebounding spot with seven boards, and both finished with six points for the night.

Anatoly Bose and Dominic Friend led Nicholls State with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Friend recorded the lone double-double of the night, grabbing 11 rebounds for the Colonels.

The Bobcats will face reigning Southland Conference champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the last of three-straight home contests on Thursday. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start and will be broadcast on stretch internet through www.txstatebobcats.com.