SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team is set to play host to Hardin-Simmons in the first game of the Portland Classic at 6 p.m. Nov. 13 inside Strahan Arena.
The Bobcats (1-0) opened the 2018-19 campaign with a 67-57 triumph over Air Force. They were led in scoring by junior
Nijal Pearson, and his 21-point effort gave him 1,000 for his career. Senior
Alex Peacock added 14 points, and junior
Jaylen Shead contributed 11 in his first game with the maroon and gold.
GAME INFORMATION
6 p.m. CST | Strahan Arena
WATCH:
ESPN+ |
Brant Freeman (PxP), Cordell Patrick (Color)
LISTEN:
103.1 FM, 89.9 FM –
Bill Culhane (PxP)
LIVE STATS:
Statbroadcast |
SIDEARM
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
Texas State is in its 98th season of men's basketball and season six under the guidance of head coach
Danny Kaspar. He owns a record of 75-88 in his six years at Texas State. His career record stands at 540-281. He is the 23rd-winningest active coach in all of NCAA Division I.
Texas State returns three of its four top scorers from a year ago in senior forward
Alex Peacock, junior guard
Nijal Pearson and senior guard
Tre'Larenz Nottingham. Pearson led the maroon and gold in both scoring (15.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.0 rpg). The Bobcats bring back 66.3 of their scoring and 56.8 percent of their rebounding. That is a big uptike from 44 percent of the scoring and 48.4 percent of the rebounding for the 2017-18 squad. Two of the top three rebounders are back for the second-consecutive year. Peacock averaged 5.0 rebounds per game to rank third on the team.
The Bobcats return 10 players, eight of which saw action, from the 2017-18 team's campaign. Pearson started all 33 games last season to extend his starting streak to 69 consecutive contests. The Beaumont, Texas, native's 502 points were the second most ever for a sophomore in program history. Pearson played 1,077 minutes to become the first Bobcat in recorded program history to play at least 1,000 minutes in back-to-back seasons.
SCOUTING HARDIN-SIMMONS
The Cowboys sport a 0-1 record after falling in their season opener against NCAA Division III Centenary College (84-79). Six different members of the team scored in double figures against Centenary, led by 13 from Joe Hoeup. Jalen Terry was second with 12, and Chris Barrett scored 11.
Hardin-Simmons was picked to finish fourth in the West Division in the American Southwest Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The team is led by second-year head coach Matt Brackett. He owns a 9-17 record in his two years leading the Cowboys.
TEXAS STATE vs. HARDIN-SIMMONS – SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series is deadlocked at 6-6. The Cowboys won six of the first seven meetings between 1920 and 1985. The Bobcats have won the five most-recent clashes. This will be the first time the two teams have met since 2002.
UP NEXT FOR THE BOBCATS
The remainder of the Portland Classic is slated for Nov. 21-24 in Portland, Ore. The Bobcats will face Cal Poly, USC Upstate and Portland across the four-day window. Prior to that trip, however, the maroon and gold will also travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on Drake at 2 p.m. Nov. 17.
-- TXSTATEBOBCATS.COM --
