Men's Basketball | 3/9/2016 2:00:00 PM

NEW ORLEANS - The Texas State men's basketball team, the seventh seed, opens the Sun Belt Conference Tournament against sixth seeded and the defending tournament champions Georgia State at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Lakefront Arena.

The Bobcats finished the regular season 14-15 overall and with an 8-12 mark in conference play. They won four of the last six games to qualify for the tournament with a win over South Alabama on the last day of the season.

All-Time Series
Leading the all-time series 5-3 after winning both games during the year is Georgia State. The Panthers won the first meeting in Strahan Coliseum 58-46 and held on for a 59-56 victory on Feb. 4 in Atlanta when a three-pointer from Black at the buzzer was just off the mark.

Thursday will be the first meeting between the programs at a neutral site. Texas State is 1-3 when playing GSU at home and 2-2 on the road.

Texas State in SBC Tournament
The Bobcats are making their second straight trip to the SBC Tournament. Last year, the team defeated UT Arlington in the first round before falling to UL Lafayette in the quarterfinals.

Scouting Texas State
Emani Gant leads Texas State in scoring (13.8), field goal percentage (49.3) and rebounding (7.7). In his final game in San Marcos, he recorded his seventh double-double of the season and 11th of his career with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Over the last eight games, the Los Angeles native is averaging 17.6 ppg on 51.0 percent shooting and 8.3 rpg.

Kavin Gilder-Tilbury is second on the team at 12.1 points per contest, 52 assists and 38 made three-pointers. He has made 46.0 percent of his shots and a team best 37.6 percent from beyond the arc.

One of the most prolific three-point shooters in program history, Ethan Montalvo has made 60 treys this season and is tied for 10th in school history with 111. The Omaha, Nebraska native also leads the team with an 81.5 free throw percentage. He contributes 10.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.

Coming off a career night on Saturday, Cameron Naylor enters the tournament putting up 9.6 ppg on 47.0 percent shooting and 5.3 rpg. He finished the regular season with a 14-point, 7-rebound game against Troy and a 22-point, 9-rebound effort on senior day against South Alabama.

The engine of the offense, Ojai Black has been on a roll the last half of the season. He is dishing out 5.1 assists per contest and sports an assist-to-turnover ratio of 5.1 thanks to not turning the ball over more than two times in the last 14 games. Thru the first 15 games of the season, Black was averaging 2.7 apg and had a 1.5 assist-to-turnover mark.

Coming off the bench, Anthony Roberson contributes 4.8 and 5.2 rebounds per game. Also seeing time on the court are Bobby Conley (2.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg), K.J. Malveau (1.7 ppg) and Maljhum McCrea (2.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg).

Scouting South Alabama
Georgia State enters the postseason with a 16-13 overall record and finished 9-11 in league play. The Panthers won just three of their last nine games with victories over Appalachian State, Arkansas State and UL Lafayette. In games away from home, GSU is 4-10 with three of the wins coming against SBC squads.

Jeremy Hollowell leads the squad with 14.7 ppg and an 81.1 percentage at the charity stripe. He has made 43.8 percent of his shots and 34 three-pointers. Also averaging over 10 points a contest is Kevin Ware at 12.0. The senior leads the team with 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

Freshman Isaiah Williams paces the Panthers with 38 treys and a 36.2 percentage from long distance on his way to a 9.4 ppg mark. Making a team-high 54.1 percent from the field is Markus Crider, who is second with 5.0 rpg and 15 blocks. Leading GSU with 5.1 rebounds per game and 24 rejections is T.J. Shipes.

The Panthers come in scoring 65.9 ppg on 44.1 percent shooting and are making 33.7 percent of their three-point attempts. Opponents are being held to 65.1 points per contest with a 40.6 field goal percentage and 31.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Fans can watch the game online via ESPN3 with Matt Stewart and Bob Donewald calling the action. Thursday's contest can also be heard over the air waves on 1300 The Zone (1300 AM) and KTSW 89.9 FM with Bill Culhane and Brant Freeman 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.