Box Score
Box Score
San Marcos, Texas – Thanks to the play of seniors Joel Wright and Reid Koenen, the Texas State men's basketball won its first overtime game of the season, overcoming South Alabama in a thriller 67-66, Thursday night at Strahan Coliseum. With the win, the Bobcats moved into a tie for 8th place in the Sun Belt Conference, in which the top eight teams advance to the Sun Belt Tournament in March.
Koenen led the Bobcats in scoring with 26 points on 7-of-10 from three-point range and Wright chipped in 21 points thanks to a 6-of-7 effort from the free throw line, giving Texas State its first pair of 20-point scorers this season.
Down 66-65 with 11 seconds to go in overtime, Joel Wright drove the ball on the baseline and drew a foul from South Alabama's Michael Ammons. Wright made both free throws to give the Bobcats a 67-66 lead with 2.6 seconds to go. The Jaguars' ensuing possession resulted in a heave from half court that was off the mark, giving Texas State the win.
Wright was big in overtime, going 4-of-4 from the free throw line including the final two to put the Bobcats ahead for good. He finished the game with 21 points, eight rebounds and three blocks and a steal in a season-high 42 minutes.
The Bobcats looked to have things wrapped up in regulation, building a 55-50 lead with 35 seconds to go. Corey Stern entered the game on defense and was able to help force a contested jumper by South Alabama. Stern got the rebound and saw Wes Davis on the outlet who flushed it home, giving the Bobcats the five-point lead. Unfortunately, South Alabama responded hitting back-to-back threes in the final 26 seconds, forcing overtime.
Texas State came out to start the game with suffocating defense, going on an early 11-2 run to take a 13-5 run midway through the first half. The Bobcats limited South Alabama to 2-of-10 from the field to start the game and forced seven early turnovers. Wright helped the cause early with two blocks right at the rim which denied second chance opportunities for the Jaguars.
During its defensive stand early, the Bobcats held the Jaguars without a field goal for a stretch of nearly nine minutes. Overall in the first half Texas State held South Alabama to 9-of-25 from the field.
Koenen lit up the scoreboard with six minutes to go in the first half. He hit back-to-back threes on consecutive possessions and scored 14 points in as many minutes to start the game. He finished with a season-high 26 points including a career-high seven made threes.
Up 51-50 with 1:18 to go, Koenen got the ball on a flare screen and drove to middle of the lane before finding Wright underneath the bucket for the layup giving Texas State a 53-50 lead with 59.0 seconds to go.
Texas State will be back in action on Saturday at 7:00 p.m., at Arkansas State. The game can be heard on 89.9 FM KTSW in San Marcos as well as www.txstatebobcats.com.
