Jan. 24, 2008

Final Stats

SAN MARCOS - A low-shooting effort by the Texas State Bobcats combined with a near perfect first half from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was too big to swallow for the maroon and white as they fell 82-69 Thursday night at Strahan Coliseum in their third Southland Conference loss this season.

The Bobcats are now 9-9 overall, while A&M-Corpus Christi shifts to 2-2 in SLC play, earning its fifth win of the year in tonight's contest.

The first half of regulation saw two times, both within the opening minutes of the game. Texas state was down by 5-7 when Matt Fullenwider found the net for a 5-5 showing and shortly after, a long-range three from Ryan White gave the `Cats a 10-10 mark with 13:38 on the clock.

The Islanders moved ahead with hard-hitting 20-5 run over Texas State that was topped by senior Chris Daniels 12-foot jumper that gave the Corpus Christi two times the `Cats total points, 15-30 at 6:09.

The Bobcats fell behind by as many as 17 points in the half before retiring on a Brent Benson three-pointer, chipping the score down 25-37 at the first-half buzzer.

Texas State shot just 31.8 percent from the field that proved no match to a 65.0 percent effort from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Islanders were 13-20 from the field in the half, coupled with 3-5 from beyond the arc and 8-9 from the line, while Texas State went 7-22 from the field and only connected on 8-17 free throws.

The second half opened with Brandon Bush for three and Corey Jefferson sinking his sole point of the game at the free throw line. These four points were cut short by a TAMU-CC 20-point rally, widening the gap to 29-49 with 12:50 remaining in the game. White connected for three to end over 7:30 minutes of scoreless basketball for Texas State. From there, the Bobcats battled point for point whittling away at the deficit coming as close as seven points from a tie game.

At the 5:00 mark, Brandon Thomas forced a turnover from TAMU-CC and ended the possession with a slam, shifting Texas State to a 57-65 score. Later, Brent Holder connected on a short jumper with two minutes remaining to put the `Cats within seven points of the lead, but the Islanders held off Texas State with power in the paint, finishing the half with 26 points down low to the maroon and white's 16.

For the game, Texas State ended on a .313 shooting effort, and a notable .656 percentage from the free throw line. Benson ended the night with 17 points, going 7-9 from the line and 4-9 from the field. Ryan White was perfect from the line and 3-7 from the field, notching a career-high 13 points in tonight's contest. Bush led the team with 19 points and shared the top rebounding spot with senior Thomas, both grabbing seven boards.

Texas State finished with 13 turnovers, ten less than the Islanders, but fell 31-45 on the boards. The Bobcats lost the battle in the paint with TAMU-CC posting 38 points to Texas State's 18.

The Bobcats will return to the court Saturday night in San Antonio for a 7 p.m. tip with Texas-San Antonio. The decision can be followed online at www.txstatebobcats.com.