SAN MARCOS, Texas – In the first game in Strahan Coliseum this month, the Texas State men's basketball team outslugged Little Rock 56-49 Saturday evening.
 
The Bobcats improve to 14-9 on the season and 7-4 in the Sun Belt Conference while the Trojans fall to 13-12 overall and 4-8 in conference action. With the other results in conference play, Texas State is now a game back in the loss column of the top four teams.



Nijal Pearson converted two free throws to give the Bobcats their first lead of the game at 5-4 with 16:43 showing on the clock. LR converted to open layups to take a 14-11 advantage with 7:59 left in the half. Texas State responded with seven straight points over the next 4:28 and finished the half on a 13-4 run while not allowing a Trojan field goal.
 
In the second half, the Bobcats extended their lead to 12 four times. The last came with 3:21 remaining on the clock following two free throws from Bobby Conley.
 
A 9-1 scoring burst followed by LR thanks to two three-pointers from Kemy Osse and one by Marcus Johnson, Jr. After trading points on the following two possessions, Kavin Gilder-Tilbury knocked a big triple from NBA range to beat the shot clock with 1:08 left to play to give Texas State a 47-40 lead.



Both teams would score nine points apiece over the final 68 seconds with all of the Bobcats' points coming at the charity stripe.
 
Gilder-Tilbury led all players with 15 points as he made 5-of-9 from the field, was 2-for-5 on three-pointers and converted 3-of-5 at the free throw line. The senior also grabbed six rebounds, had two assists and blocked a shot.
 
Pearson also reached double-figures with 13 points. The freshman made all four of his free throw attempts while grabbing three boards.
 
Nearly recording his first career double-double was Conley with nine points and a career-high nine rebounds. He also dished out a game-high four assists. Also netting nine points and dishing out four assists was Ojai Black.
 
Coming off the bench, Nedeljko Prijovic scored six points and grabbed six rebounds. He, along with Marlin Davis and Pearson, led the team with one steal.
 
Texas State finished the night 17-for-48 (35.4%) from the field and was 5-for-13 (38.5%) from long distance. The team continued to struggle at the free throw line going 17-for-30 (56.7%) but made 13-of-19 (68.4%) attempts in the second half.
 
Defensively, the Bobcats held the Trojans to 30.2 percent shooting (16-53) with a 5-for-16 (31.3%) night on three-pointers. LR did convert 12-of-13 (92.3%) at the charity stripe to keep themselves in the game.
 
Next up for Texas State is a meeting with SBC co-leader Arkansas State on Monday at 7 p.m. in Strahan Coliseum.
 
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.