Jan. 26, 2008

Final Stats

San Antonio, Tx. - Ryan White notched a career-high 17 points in the Texas State Bobcats 79-73 victory over Texas-San Antonio Saturday night in the I-35 maroon versus orange rivalry game.

The healthy rivalry quickly came to play when Chris Agwumaro knocked down a three-pointer to kill a 4-0 run that UTSA opened that game with. The senior dropped in two more points to give Texas State a one-point lead.

The Roadrunners retaliated but a combined effort by Brandon Thomas to Brandon Bush put the `Cats ahead, again.

White fought for back-to-back defensive boards on the following possessions and found a wide-open lane the second time around for the easy lay-in. Going point for point, the Roadrunners were there to answer, but White dropped in two more, 10-11, in favor of the Bobcats.

A fervent defensive effort by Texas State forced a shock clock violation on the Roadrunners, but the rival countered with a 10-2 run over the Bobcats. At 3:17, the defense was back forcing another botched possession for UTSA and cashed it in for an easy two in the paint by Thomas, 26-19.

Texas State continued on the road and came within three points with less than a minute on the clock. Matt Fullenwider went to the line with 30 seconds on the clock, went 2-2, and sent the `Cats into the half 30-29.

Mimicking the first half, Agwumaro and White paired for the first two maroon and white baskets for an opening and the points never stopped flowing. At 10:18, the clumsy ball-handling of Texas-San Antonio's squad put the ball in the hands of White who found Brent Holder open at the arc. Riding a six-point lead, Holder muscled his way for two more points to give the Bobcats a 48-56 lead.

Texas State led by as many as 12 points before the final buzzer that was highlighted by eight points each chipped in by Agwumaro and Ty Gough.

The Runners came within four points of a tie at 2:47, 63-67, but their foul tally sent Texas State to the line for a rising score one shot at a time to take the game.

For the game, the Bobcats shot .462 percent from the field to UTSA's .429 percent. The Bobcats grabbed eight steals, one less than the Roadrunners, while the `Cats won the battle underneath posting 36 points in the paint over Texas-San Antonio's 26. The Bobcats went an impressive 26-36 from the stripe in tonight's contest, a 70 percent effort.

White went 5-9 from the field and 6-6 from the stripe, topping the charts for Texas State. Brent Benson finished with 14 points and Chris Agwumaro tallied 13, along with his five rebounds in the contest. Gough finished one shy of a double-double with ten points and nine rebounds.

Texas San-Antonio was led by 20 points from Melvin Smith and a 15-point outing by Devin Gibson.

The Bobcats will remain on the road, taking on Stephen F. Austin Wednesday in Nacogdoches. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on 89.9 FM KTSW.