TROY, Ala. – The Texas State men's basketball team had a 14-point halftime lead disappear before going on a final run to win 57-46 in its Sun Belt Conference season opener over Troy. Ethan Montalvo led the way with a career-high 20 points.
Texas State saw the game tied at 41-41 with 7:49 to go. From there the Bobcats went on a 16-5 run to end the game. During one possession, the Bobcats had four offensive rebounds and capitalized by Montalvo threading a pass into tight defense to JaMarcus Weatherspoon for the layup.
Montalvo had four assists to go along with his 20 points. Texas State ended the game with a 41-25 rebounding advantage, led by Kavin-Gilder Tilbury who had a team-high nine, three of which were offensive.
Wes Davis buoyed the Bobcats after getting down 15-6 to start the game. He found holes in the Troy zone and scored eight of the team's first 11 points. His jumper with 11:01 to go in the first half was the first bucket to begin a 23-0 run to end the half.
Davis was helped by a couple teammates, Kendell Ramlal and Ethan Montalvo, during the spurt. Ramlal hit a 12-foot jumper on the left baseline, cutting the deficit to 15-11 at the time. Montalvo then took over by hitting three three-pointers, part of his nine-point first half.
During the Bobcats' 23-0 run to end the first half, Troy was held scoreless over the final 11:35 of the first half. The Trojans went 0-for-14 during that stretch and finished the first half 4-of-22 from the field, just 18.6 percent. Texas State took a 29-15 lead into halftime.
The Bobcats will have a four-day break before facing Georgia Southern for the first time in school history on Saturday, Jan. 3, in Statesboro, Ga. The game will tipoff at 6:00 p.m., central The game can be heard on 89.9 FM KTSW, and www.txstatebobcats.com/radio.
