Feb. 28, 2010

Final Stats

Natchitoches, La. - Junior guard J.B. Conley came off the bench to score a career-high of 42 points and Ryan White added 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the Texas State men's basketball team to an 89-75 victory at Northwestern State on Saturday, Feb. 27 in Prather Coliseum.

Prior to the game, the Southland Conference announced that junior forward Cameron Johnson, Texas State's scoring and rebounding leader, was suspended for one game and would have to sit out Saturday's game at Northwestern State. But, Conley made up the slack and then some when he became the first Texas State player to score 42 points in a game since Lynwood Wade scored 42 points against Sam Houston State on Jan. 7, 1993. His 42 points also tied Bo Lamar for the third-highest total ever scored in Prather Coliseum.

The Bobcats trailed 10-7 when Conley scored his first two points in the game with a pair of free throws with 16:32 left in the opening half. A minute later, his lay-up gave Texas State an 11-10 lead and the Bobcats never trailed again.

By halftime, Conley had already surpassed his previous career high of 20 points that he set at Nicholls a week earlier when he tallied 22 points in the first half to give the Bobcats a 45-36 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Northwestern State rallied in the opening minutes to tie the score at 48-48 following six straight points by Damon Jones.

But, Conley scored five points more points when White stole the ball from Jones and hit Conley with a perfect pass for a left-handed lay-up and Conley nailed a three-point shot to give Texas State a 53-48 lead.

After the Demon's pulled back to within two points, on William Mosley's dunk shot, Jonathan Sloan made a jumper in the lane and Conley added another pair of free throws to push the Bobcats back to a six-point advantage, 58-52.

After White nailed a three-point shot, he hit Emmanuel Bidias A' Moute on a fast break for a lay-up to give Texas State a double-digit lead for the first time at 68-57.

Conley and White teamed to give Texas State a 14-point advantage when they both made a lay-up to make the score 79-65 with 3:44 left to play.

The two teams exchanged baskets the rest of the way until White hit Rybak for a lay-up to give Texas State its biggest lead in the game at 89-74 with 39 seconds left to play.

Devon Baker made one of his two free throws for the Demons to make the final scored 89-75.

The win gives Texas State a 13-15 overall record and evened its Southland Conference mark at 7-7 heading into the final week of the regular season. Northwestern State fell to 10-17 overall and in a four-way tie for the eighth place with Nicholls, McNeese State and Lamar.