ARLINGTON, Texas – Senior forward Emani Gant became the 20th Texas State men's basketball to record 1,000 career points Tuesday night in a 75-69 setback to UT Arlington in the College Park Center. He finished with 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds and two blocks.
 
The Bobcats dropped to 12-15 overall and 6-12 in the Sun Belt Conference but remain half a game back of the final spot for the conference tournament after Arkansas State fell to Little Rock tonight. With the win, the Mavericks improved to 20-9 on the season and 11-8 in league play.
 
Ojai Black and Ethan Montalvo both netted 13 points apiece and Anthony Roberson added 10 of the bench. For the second time this season, Black dished out eight assists, tying his career-high, and did not turn the ball over.
 
Tying Gant for the team lead in rebounding with seven was Kavin Gilder-Tilbury.
 
Texas State made 45.5 percent of its shots and held UTA to 38.6 percent shooting. However, the Mavericks went 25-for-29 (86.2 percent) at the free throw line while the Bobcats struggled, going 13-for-27 (48.1 percent).
 
Scoring 10 of the first 15 points was Texas State thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from Gilder-Tilbury and Montalvo. Another triple from Montalvo at the 13:42 mark gave the Bobcats their largest lead of the game at 15-7.
 
A 17-2 run over a 6:19 span swung the game into UTA's favor and took a 39-28 advantage into halftime after two free throws from Jalen Jones.
 
Down by 12 with just over 14 minutes to play, the Bobcats charged back behind seven points from Roberson to cut the deficit to 58-57 with 7:40 to play. Gant recorded his 1,000th career point during the run when he hit a jumper with 9:42 remaining in the game. The Mavericks answered right back with a 13-1 scoring burst.
 
Texas State responded by scoring 11 of the next 14 points capped off by Black's lone triple of the contest from the top of the arc with 30 seconds to play to make it a single-digit game.
 
A return to Strahan Coliseum awaits the Bobcats as they close the regular season with two games at home. First up is Troy on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.