Men's Basketball | 3/4/2016 7:38:00 PM
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Heading into the final regular season game of the season on Saturday, the Texas State men's basketball team must defeat South Alabama in Strahan Coliseum that is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. tipoff to qualify for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. It will also be senior day that will see
Emani Gant,
Ethan Montalvo and
Cameron Naylor honored prior to the contest.
The Bobcats are 13-15 on the year and 7-12 in conference play. A win would propel them to the seventh seed for the league tournament. However, a loss to the Jaguars would end Texas State's season because of tiebreakers.
All-Time SeriesIn the all-time series, the Bobcats have a 4-1 lead after taking the first meeting this season 78-67 on Jan. 14. Three of the last meetings have gone in favor of Texas State, all by double digits. USA's lone win came on Mar. 6, 2014 (63-53) in Mobile, Alabama.
Scouting Texas StateKavin Gilder-Tilbury is coming off a career night in which he made a career-high six three pointers on his way to a 26-point game. In the last four games, the junior forward is averaging 15.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He has made 60.0 percent of his shots and 52.4 percent of his three-pointers in the same time frame.
Gant was held to his lowest points total in the last seven games but still dominated on the glass with eight rebounds Tuesday night. This season he is averaging 13.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest and making a team-high 50.4 percent of his shot attempts.
Montalvo is two made three-pointers away cracking the top 10 in school history. The Omaha, Nebraska native has made 107 in his two-year career in a Bobcat uniform. He has made a trey in seven straight games.
Naylor enters Saturday averaging 9.1 ppg and 5.1 rpg. He has found his midrange shot and has shot 40 percent or better in five times in the last six games.
Continuing to hand out assists left and right is
Ojai Black. He coming off a near record setting performance on Tuesday. Since the one-point win over Appalachian State on Feb. 11, the junior guard is dishing out 5.9 assists per contest and has turned the ball over just five times for an 8.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Scouting South AlabamaSouth Alabama enters Strahan Coliseum with a 13-17 mark on the season and are 8-11 in the SBC. The Jaguars are currently seventh in the league standings, a game up on Arkansas State and Texas State. Three of the past five games has seen USA come out on the short end including a 92-79 loss at UT Arlington on Thursday.
When playing in true road games, the Jaguars are 4-10 on the season with three wins (Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and Troy) in league play. Their lone true non-conference away game victory was a double overtime thriller at Samford.
Pacing USA in scoring (15.8), assists (3.3), made three-pointers (60) and free throw percentage (80.5) is Ken Williams. He has made 38.0 percent of his shots and 32.8 percent from beyond the arc while adding 3.1 rebounds per game.
Both Georgi Boyanov (10.9) and Nick Stover (10.0) are putting up just over 10 points per contest. Boyanov leads the team with 7.9 rebounds per game and 50.7 field goal percentage.
The only Jaguar to start every game this season is Barrington Stevens. He is average just 5.4 ppg but handing out 2.5 apg. Shaw Calhoun is the top sub for the team, coming off the bench in every game but one. He has put up 8.6 ppg and is second on the team with 45 made treys.
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.
