Men's Basketball | 1/8/2016 2:59:00 PM
SAN MARCOS, Texas – A stretch of three straight Sun Belt Conference road games for the Texas State men's basketball team begins Saturday at Appalachian State. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT in the Holmes Center.
Heading into the game the Bobcat are 7-4 overall, 1-1 on the young conference season and have won four of their last six games. The Mountaineers are 2-11 on the year and 0-3 in the league. They have lost nine straight with their last victory coming on Nov. 26 against Liberty, 73-62, in the 2015 Challenge in Music City that was held in Nashville, Tennessee.
Saturday will be the fourth meeting ever between the two programs. Appalachian State holds a 2-1 series lead after winning both games last season. Texas State's lone victory was on Dec. 23, 2010 in the Cancun Governor's Cup 79-68.
In SBC play,
Kavin Gilder-Tilbury leads the Bobcats in scoring at 15.0 points per game and is second in rebounding (7.0) behind
Anthony Roberson's 8.0 rpg.
Emani Gant is averaging 12.0 ppg and 5.5 rpg thru the first two conference games while for the season he paces the team with 14.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
Ethan Montalvo, coming off an injury shortened game a week ago, paces the league with a 91.7 free throw percentage and is tied for fourth with 1.8 steals per game. The senior guard contributes 9.2 ppg and has made 17 three-pointers on the offensive end of the court.
Along with Montalvo,
Ojai Black (17), Gant (10) and Gilder-Tilbury (13) have all totaled double-digit steals this season.
Texas State goes into the weekend fourth in the nation in scoring defense at 58.3 ppg and 10th with 17.55 turnovers forced per contest.
The focal point of the Mountaineers offense is Frank Eaves. He is scoring 19.5 ppg and is shooting 43.0 percent from the field, 44.0 percent on three-pointers and 76.8 percent at the charity stripe. Of his 83 made baskets, 44 have come from beyond the arc. Eaves also leads Appalachian State with 32 assists and 18 steals.
Adding 9.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game is Ronshad Shabazz. He has converted 35.7 percent of his shots and made 31.7 percent of his treys. Chris Burgess adds 7.8 ppg and is second on the team with 29 assists. Leading the SBC with 1.7 blocks per game, despite playing less than 15 minutes a contest, is Jacob Lawson.
The game will be broadcast over the air waves on 1300 The Zone (1300 AM) and 89.9 FM KTSW where Brant Freeman will have the call. Live stats, audio and video will be available with links on the Bobcats men's basketball schedule page at
www.txstatebobcats.com, the official website of Texas State Athletics.
