Box Score
Game Notes
San Marcos, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team put on a show tonight as it opened the season at home with an 89-62 victory over visiting Sul Ross State. The Bobcats start the season 1-0 for the fifth straight season.
Senior forward #J.B. Conley led the Bobcats with 17 points and eight rebounds. Junior forward A.J. Stewart recorded 14 points and senior forward Tony Bishop# added 14 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
“You could tell early on that there were a lot of nerves and it was the first game of the season,” said head coach Doug Davalos. “But when we had a chance to settle down, I thought we played pretty well.”
Seniors Cameron Johnson and Jonathan Sloan gave the Bobcats an early 9-2 lead three minutes into the game, but Sul Ross soon brought the lead to 9-8. Junior transfer Travis Jones drained a three-pointer and slammed down a dunk to help Texas State get a 7-0 run to go up 16-8 with 13:52 to go.
The Bobcats were able to control the rest of the half as they took a 20-point lead over the Lobos heading into halftime.
Bishop got things started in the second half with a lay-up, followed by a steal by Ryan White that led to a Jonathan Sloan dunk to extend the lead to 24.
Texas State carried its momentum for the rest of the game, although the Lobos were able to cut the lead to 16 after a pair of free throws by Jimmy Martinez. The Bobcats held on to stretch the lead to 27 and come away with the 89-62 victory at home.
“Sul Ross State came out and played hard,” said Davalos. “I was really happy to see that I was able to keep our big guys in the game. Tony Bishop was outstanding, the best I've ever seen him move his feet defensively. I wanted our bigs to come out and guard kids, and I feel like they were able to get after it tonight.”
Martinez led the Lobos with 17 points. Travis Johnson registered 14 points and Bralyn Thomas had 11 points and six boards.
Texas State returns to Strahan Coliseum on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. as it hosts Long Island. First 1,000 students will receive a free WAC t-shirt.
