Men's Basketball | 3/1/2017 9:37:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The final weekend of the regular season begins for the Texas State men's basketball team with a trip to take on Louisiana Thursday night at 7:15 p.m. in the Cajundome. The Bobcats have an opportunity to position themselves for a top four seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament with a victory.
 
Entering the game, the Bobcats are 17-11 on the season and 10-6 in the Sun Belt Conference while the Ragin' Cajuns are 18-11 overall and 8-8 in conference play.
 
Live stats, audio and video will be available for the game with Brant Freeman calling the game on either 103.1 FM out of Austin and on KTSW 89.9 FM out of San Marcos.
 
Last Time Out
The Bobcats closed out their home slate with a dominating 26-point victory over South Alabama. The senior night total of 90 points was the most against a Division I opponent in the Danny Kaspar era. The victory also clinched the program's first winning season in 14 years.
 
Kavin Gilder-Tilbury closed out his Strahan Coliseum career with career-high tying 26 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of his career and season. He has now netted 1,279 points in his career and is 13 shy of passing Steven Frontz (1974-78) for eighth on school's career list. Against Louisiana, Gilder-Tilbury will appear in his 121 game in a Texas State uniform, the most in program history.
 
Nijal Pearson netted 15 points and was credited with four assists for the second straight game. Contributing 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and dishing out five assists was Ojai Black.
 
Also reaching double-digits points was Marlin Davis and Nedeljko Prijovic. Davis posted a new career-high with 11 points as he connected on 5-of-6 from the field. Prijovic tied his career best with 10 points and grabbed seven boards.
 
Despite only scoring two points, Bobby Conley set a new career best with six assists to lead all players.
 
Scouting Louisiana
Louisiana comes in to Thursday's contest on a four-game winning streak. The Ragin' Cajuns are 10-4 are home this season but are just 3-4 against SBC opponents.
 
Frank Bartley IV comes into the game leading the team in scoring (15.9), made three-pointers (63) and free throw percentage (72.3). He connected on 45.7 percent of his shots and 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. His 46 steals and 2.6 assists per game are the second most on the squad.
 
Jay Wright comes in averaging 15.2 points per game. He enters pacing the squad with 4.1 apg and 55 steals. Overall, he has made 44 treys, 44.5 percent from the field, 34.1 percent of his three-point attempts and 70.4 percent at the free throw line.
 
Averaging a double-double is Bryce Washington at 13.6 ppg and SBC leading 11.3 rpg. He also paces the conference in field goal percentage (59.7) while blocking a team best 22 shots and recording 37 steals.
 
The fourth player putting up double-digit points is Justin Miller at 10.8 per contest. The freshman is shooting 47.2 percent from the field and has connected on 20-of-59 three-pointers. His 5.1 rpg ranks second on the team.
 
Johnathan Stove comes in putting up 8.6 ppg and 4.0 rpg. The top threat off the bench and from long range is P.J. Hardy, who has connected on a team best 45.7 percent of his three-pointers with 42 made treys.
 
All-Time Series
Louisiana leads the all-time series 8-1 after walking out of Strahan Coliseum earlier this season with a 79-73 win. When the Bobcats play in Lafayette, Louisiana, they are 0-4 and have dropped all three Sun Belt Conference meetings by at least 23 points.
 
TXST's lone victory over the Cajuns came last season at home on Feb. 20, 2016 led by Emani Gant's 19 points and eight rebounds. Black scored a then career-high 14 points as well.
 
The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy.  New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your school's ticket office.  For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the #FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.
 
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.