Nov. 14, 2009

Final Stats

Game Stats in PDF Format

San Marcos, Texas- - Playing in his first game at Texas State, Uriel Segura scored 15 points and handed out four assists to lead five players in double figures as the Texas State men's basketball team defeated Howard Payne 102-67 Friday night in Strahan Coliseum.

The Bobcats opened their 2009-10 season in impressive fashion as Cameron Johnson, John Rybak and John Bowman added 12 points each to complement Segura's effort. Another newcomer, Dylan Hale, the only freshman on Texas State's roster added 10 points in his first collegiate start.

"I think that we can break this game into two segment," Texas State head coach Doug Davalos said. "We can take a look at the first half and figure out what we need to do, and we can build on some things in the second half. In the second half, we defended a lot better with our feet and instead of our hands."

The game began with Howard Payne's Brandon Irwin hitting a pair of three-point baskets as Howard Payne jumped out to an early 10-2 lead.

Texas State regained the lead as John Bowman hit a baseline jumper to give the Bobcats a 12-11 lead.

The two teams battled back and forth until Hale and Rybak hit back-to-back three-point shots in the final minute to give the Bobcats a 51-43 lead halftime lead.

In the second half, Texas State turned up the defensive pressure as the Bobcats forced 10 turnovers and held Howard Payne to just 28 percent shooting after allowing them to shoot 58 percent from the field in the first half. .

On the offensive end, Segura and J.B. Conley each scored nine points to lead Texas State. The Bobcats made 17 of their 34 field goal attempts and 12 of their 18 free throws to outscore the Yellow Jackets 51-24 in the second period.

After their season-opening victory, Texas State travels to Tempe, Ariz., and plays at Arizona State in the first round of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Tipoff Classic.