SAN MARCOS, Texas – For the first time in five seasons the Texas State men's basketball team defeated UTA in the regular season as the Bobcats took down the Mavericks 81-73 in Strahan Coliseum Saturday evening. The last time Texas State beat UTA during the regular season was on Feb. 12, 2011 at home.
 
With the victory, the Bobcats improve to 9-6 on the season and 2-1 in the Sun Belt Conference while the Mavericks drop to 12-4 overall, 2-1 in conference play and saw their 11-game winning streak come to an end.


 
Three straight steals and pushing the floor off a missed three-point allowed Texas State to score the first eight points of the game in less than two minutes.
 
After a three-pointer by Tyler Blount put the Bobcats up by nine with 12:33 remaining in the first half, the team traded the next couple of baskets. Immanuel King hit a short jumper just over halfway through the period to give Texas State its largest lead of the half, 27-17.
 
UTA took its first lead of the game with 2:26 left following a fastbreak layup by Jalen Jones. On the very next possession, Kavin Gilder-Tilbury knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the arc to beat the shot clock and put the Bobcats back in front 40-39. That basket would be the last points for either team the rest of the period.
 
The second half opened with the Mavericks going on an 11-2 run to take a 50-42 lead with 16:36 left in the game.
 
Gilder-Tilbury knocked down a three-pointer to beat the shot clock that kick started a 23-2 run for the Bobcats that lasted 8:34 and gave them the largest lead of the game by either team of 13 points (65-52). Defensively during the stretch, Texas State's defense forced UTA to miss eight consecutive shots. Gilder-Tilbury tallied half of the team's points during the run while both Nijal Pearson and King added four apiece.
 
The closest that the Bobcats would allow the Mavericks to get the rest of the game was eight on five occurrences.
 
Four Texas State players reached double-figures led by Gilder-Tilbury's 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting that included going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. With his scoring output, he moved into 18th place on the program's career scoring list, surpassing former teammate Emani Gant, with 1,058. The senior also posted a game-high and matched his career-high of four steals.


 
Ojai Black set a new career best with 16 points as went 4-for-5 from the field and converted a career-high 8-of-9 free throw attempts. The Killeen, Texas native tied his season-high of six assists for the third time this season, grabbed two rebounds and was credited with two steals.
 
Pearson netted 14 points that included an 8-for-10 performance at the charity stripe. The freshman added four rebounds, two assists, a career-high two blocks and a steal. Rounding out the foursome of double-digit scorers was Bobby Conley with 11 points. He contributed three rebounds, three assists and matched his career-high of two rejections as well.
 
Pacing the team on the glass was King with six rebounds. The junior big man posted two steals, both coming on the Mavericks' first two possessions of the game.
 
As a team, the Bobcats shot 55.1 percent (27-49) from the field and converted 78.6 percent (22-28) of their free throws. They finished with a 7-1 advantage in blocks, 11-8 in steals and edged out UTA on the glass 31-30.
 
Next up for Texas State are the first two road conference games of the season beginning with a trip to South Alabama on Saturday for a 3:05 p.m. tipoff.
 
For the latest on Texas State men's basketball, visit the official website of Texas State athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com, follow the team on Twitter at @TxStateMBB, Instagram at @TxStateMBB and like on Facebook at /TexasStateMensBasketball.