Men's Basketball | 3/2/2016 5:46:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team is back in Strahan Coliseum for the final two games of the regular season beginning Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Troy. It is nearly a must win game for the Bobcats to qualify for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament next week in New Orleans.
 
Entering the game, Texas State is 12-15 on the season and 6-12 in league play, half a game back of Arkansas State for the final tournament spot. The simplest scenario for the Bobcats to reach the postseason is to win the last two games thanks to holding the tiebreaker over the Red Wolves.
 
All-Time Series
The all-time series between the Bobcats and Trojans is tied 3-3 after Troy won the first meeting this season 66-57. When playing in Strahan Coliseum, Texas State has won both meetings by eight points (73-65, Jan. 25, 2014) and six points (67-61, Feb. 26, 2015).
 
Scouting Texas State
Emani Gant became the latest member of the 1,000-point club at Texas State when he notched his 12th point of the game on Tuesday at UT Arlington. The Los Angeles native has been dominate over the last six games averaging 19.2 points on 56.9 percent shooting and 7.8 rebounds per game.
 
Setting Gant up and other players on the team is Ojai Black. He is coming off his third 8-assist game this season and is dishing out 4.3 per contest over the last 12 games. During that span, the junior guard has turned the ball over just 11 times and has five contests with zero turnovers.
 
Ethan Montalvo continues to move closer to cracking the top 10 for made three-pointers in school history. After making three on Tuesday, he now has 107 in his career and is four away from 10th place currently held by Brent Holder (2006-08).
 
Kavin Gilder-Tilbury enters the game second on the squad in points (11.8) and assists (1.9) and grabs 4.1 rebounds per game. Since being inserted into the starting lineup 13 games ago, Cameron Naylor has been averaging 9.5 ppg and 5.5 rpg while shooting 42.2 percent from the field.
 
Scouting Troy
Troy comes into Thursday's contest with a 9-20 overall record, 4-14 in the SBC and have lost three straight. The Trojans are the only team so far eliminated from qualifying for the conference tournament after a 66-51 loss at home to UL Monroe on Saturday.
 
In true road games this year, Troy is 4-8 with conference wins over Arkansas State and South Alabama. The two non-conference victories have been against North Texas and South Florida.
 
Leading the Trojans is Wesley Person at 17.3 ppg on 43.7 percent shooting and 93 made three-pointers. He has the nation's longest active streak at 58 consecutive games with a made trey.
 
Second on the team with 13.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game is Jordon Varnado. The brother of the NCAA career blocked shots record holder, he sports team-highs in field goal percentage (48.9) and blocks (35).
 
John Walton III is close to averaging a double-double per game at 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. The fourth Trojan to contribute double figures in points is Jeremy Hollimon at 10.4. He started the first 22 games of the season but has come off the bench in seven of the last eight.
 
Due to construction and lane closures in the area, fans are advised to turn directly into the Strahan East Parking Lot if attempting to access parking via Aquarena Springs. Fans are also encouraged to use Hopkins Street to access Charles Austin Drive and the Strahan Parking Lots.
 
Fans can listen to the game over the air waves on 1300 The Zone (1300 AM) and KTSW 89.9 FM with Bill Culhane on 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.