Box Score
Beaumont, Texas – Texas State rallied back in the second half against Lamar on the road tonight, but it wasn't enough as they fell to the Cardinals, 113-102. The Bobcats committed 19 turnovers and had only four steals in the game to drop to 15-14, 10-5 in the conference, while Lamar improved to 13-16, 7-8 in the league. Despite the loss, Texas State remains in first place in the west division and tied for first overall.
Tony Bishop netted a career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead Texas State. Ryan White had 16 points and seven assists. Matt Staff finished with 14 points and Cameron Johnson recorded 11 points.
Lamar came out of halftime outscoring Texas State, 13-6; including back-to-back three pointers to take a 67-52 lead on the Bobcats. The Cardinals were hitting almost every three pointer they were throwing up in the second half, pulling every trick in the book in an attempt to take down the Bobcats.
Texas State began to catch a rhythm midway through the second half as it went on a 14-2 run to close Lamar's lead to 87-72 with 10:19 to go in the game. Bishop scored six points in the run as the co-captain took it to the hole each time. The Bobcats went on a 10-0 run before the Cardinals could finally score a bucket.
The Bobcats began to add to its point total with a few fastbreak buckets and some free throws to get bring the score to 99-88 in favor of the Cardinals. A three-point play by White broke Lamar's double digit lead and brought the Bobcats to with eight points at 99-91 with four minutes left to play.
A goaltending by Lamar with 2: 11 to go brought Texas State to within four points at 101-97. The Cardinals were able to crash the boards and keep the Bobcats from scoring as they put up four straight points against Texas State. Johnson netted a free throw but the Bobcats saw themselves down by seven points with time quickly winding down.
Lamar was 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final seconds of the game to close out the win at home. Mike James led all Lamar players with 30 points. Brandon Davis added 22 points and Kendrick Harris had 13.
Texas State and Lamar went back in the forth with each team going on a run during the half. The Cardinals recorded a 12-point run for the largest of the half, as Lamar took a 54-46 lead into the locker rooms. Texas State's Tony Bishop and Lamar's Mike James each had 14 points at the half to lead all scorers.
Texas State will conclude Southland Conference regular season play in Huntsville, Texas on Saturday, March 5. Tip-off against Sam Houston State is slated for 7 p.m. at Johnson Arena. The Bobcats won the last meeting in San Marcos on January 19 in a 95-91 victory at home.
