FORT COLLINS. Colo. – Trailing by 11 at halftime, the Texas State men's basketball team held Colorado State to 3-of-17 shooting in the second half and were get to within three twice. Unfortunately, the Rams came out on top 66-58 Sunday afternoon at Moby Arena.
 
The Bobcats dropped to 5-6 on the season while the Rams are also now 5-6.
 
"We let this game get away from us in the first half. Our kids put up a valiant effort in the second half. We just did a couple of things that weren't very smart at the end," said head coach Danny Kaspar. "Our big men have to come and be more of an offensive threat for us. We got nothing tonight and that was probably the difference in the game."
 
Nijal Pearson converted an old-fashion three-point play at the first media timeout of the game to give TXST a 12-9 advantage. The Bobcats would twice more take a three-point advantage after treys from Deris Duncan and Pearson.
 
Two free throws courtesy of Isaiah Gurley and a short fade away jumper from Nedeljko Prijovic put TXST up 22-17, its largest lead of the game, at the 9:32 mark. CSU found a rhythm offensive and outscored the Bobcats 25-9 the rest of the first half to take a 42-31 advantage at halftime.
 
Pearson drove the lane and got a tough shot to fall that kick started a 9-2 run for TXST over a 2:49 span. Marlin Davis capped off the run with a mid-range jumper from near the free throw line to cut the deficit to 46-42 with under 13 minutes to play.
 
The Rams stretched their advantage back to nine after a free throw from Lorenzo Jenkins. The Bobcats countered with six consecutive points capped by a three-point from Pearson with 3:45 left in the game to cut the score to 58-55.
 
After an old-fashion three-point play from CSU, Shelby Adams hit a triple from the left wing to again pull TXST to within three at 61-58. However, two more free throws from Prentiss Nixon and the fourth three-pointer of the game from Anthony Bonner sealed the game.
 
Pearson led the Bobcats with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, was 2-for-4 from beyond the arc and made 2-of-3 at the charity stripe. He also grabbed three rebounds and was one of seven Bobcats with an assist on the night.
 
Also reaching double-figures was Peacock with 13 points after going 4-for-8 from the field with two made treys and was 3-of-4 at the free throw line. The junior grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and blocked a shot.
 
Coming off the bench Isaiah Gurley scored 10 points. He did most of his damage coming at the charity stripe with a 6-for-6 performance. Along with Marlin Davis, the junior dished out a team-high two assists.
 
Davis netted eight points with a 4-for-5 performance at the free throw line. He also recorded a team best two steals.
 
As a team, TXST was 17-for-45 (37.8%) shooting the ball with six made three-pointers and converted 18-of-26 (69.2%) at the charity stripe. The Bobcats did outrebound CSU 32-30 to mark the 10 time this season grabbing more boards than the opposition.
 
Next up for TXST is Ecclesia College on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Strahan Coliseum. It will be the final non-conference home game of the season.
 
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 Instagram and Twitter at @TxStateMBB and like on Facebook at /TexasStateMensBasketball.