Nov. 19, 2008

Final Stats

Game Stats in PDF Format

San Marcos, Texas - John Rybak scored a career-high 17 points and senior guards Brandon Bush and Brent Benson added 16 points each to lead the Texas State men's basketball team to a 104-81 victory over Huston-Tillotson in front of 2,235 in Strahan Coliseum Wednesday night.

Playing in their first home game of the season and just two days after returning from Honolulu, Hawaii, Texas State was called for an administrative technical foul before the game began and Huston Tillotson's Gabe Haskins made both free throws to give the Rams a 2-0 lead.

But, Bush hit Rybak for a three-point shot from the right wing to give the Bobcats a 3-2 lead on their first possession and they never looked back.

Both teams battled back and forth in the first two-and-one-half minutes of the game as Texas State held a 9-7 lead with 17:32 left in the opening period. But, Rybak hit another trey and Ty Gough added four points on a lay-up and two free throws to extend the Bobcat lead to 16-7.

Bush hit a jumper in the lane before Rybak hit his third three-pointer to put Texas State up 21-7 with 15:30 left in the opening period.

The Rams couldn't get any closer than eight points the rest of the half as Texas State went on to lead 60-43 at halftime.

Ryback finished the first half with 12 points, while Bush and Gough added eight points each.

In the second half, the Bobcats extended their lead to 76-47 in the first five minutes of the second half as Corey Jefferson hit Brent Benson for a pair of three-point baskets and Bush for a slam dunk.

The Bobcats hit the century mark with 3:38 left to play when Emmanuel Bidias A' Moute made a pair of free throws. Ryback hit his final three-pointer with 2:27 left in the game to give the Bobcats their largest lead of the night, 103-70. Robert Hartfield and Gabe Haskins made four free throws each and Haskins closed out the scoring with a three-pointer in the final second to make the final score 104-81.

The win was Texas State's second straight victory at home after the Bobcats ended the 2007-08 season with a 97-86 victory over UT-Arlington.

In addition to Ryback, Bush and Benson combining for 49 points, Ty Gough finished with 12 points and a career-best 14 rebounds, Bidias A' Moute added 11 points and Cameron Johnson scored 10 points for Texas State as the Bobcats improved their record to 2-1 this season.

Haskins finished with 23 points to lead Huston-Tillotson, while James Black scored 18 points and Robert Hatfield added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Rams, who fell to 1-3 this year.