PORTLAND, Ore. – Junior Nijal Pearson scored 13 consecutive points for the Texas State men's basketball team in the first half to spark the Bobcats (5-1) to a 91-68 victory over Portland (5-3) in the Chiles Center to claim the Portland Classic title.
 
"This was an awesome win. I was impressed with our intensity," said head coach Danny Kaspar. "We started out over anxious in the first four or five minutes. I was impressed with the way we came back. It was great to see our guys come out to start the second half and put it on them hard."
 
The Beaumont, Texas native netted a career-high 33 points, 19 of which came in the first half, on 12-of-18 shooting and was 6-for-9 on three-pointers. He also grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists and recorded three steals to earn the Most Valuable Player award of the tournament.
 
Pearson moved up to 16^th on the TXST career scoring list, passing Jeff Foster and Willie Terrell in the opening period. The junior guard is currently at 1,101 career points and is eight away from matching Dameon Sansom for 15^th all-time.
 
Portland jumped out to an 11-2 lead through the first six minutes. The lone basket for TXST in that span was a layup from Jaylen Shead as the team started 1-of-11 from the field.
 
Nijal Pearson took over and scored the Bobcats' next 13 points with three made treys. His third triple cut the deficit to 16-15 with 9:40 showing on the clock.
 
Texas State appeared to tie the game 40 seconds later when a long attempt from Isaiah Gurley banked in. However during the next media timeout, the refs looked at the replay and saw that his foot was on the line to put the Bobcat behind by one again.
 
Five consecutive points courtesy of Chandler Davis gave TXST its first lead of the game at 26-25.
 
After the Pilots scored the next five points, Davis converted the frontend of a one-and-one and Alex Peacock knocked down a shot from beyond the arc to tie the game. Davis then swiped a pass from midcourt and took it all the way for a slam to put Texas State ahead by two with 2:10 left in the half.
 
Portland retook the lead after netting four straight points. Pearson concluded the scoring in the period with two free throws and hitting a long jumper at the halftime buzzer that was ruled to be a two-pointer as the junior had a toe on the line to send TXST into the half leading 36-34.
 
The Bobcats opened the second half with a 12-0 run that began and ended with a Nottingham three-pointer. In between TXST converted old-fashion three-point plays with one coming from Terry and another by Perason.
 
Portland would get as close as 11 following a JoJo Walker triple, but the Bobcats followed by going on a 10-3 run and salted away the win. The largest lead would be 25 after a Mason Harrell three-pointer with just over a minute remaining.
 
A Portland Classic All-Tournament team selection, Nottingham netted 11 points with three treys and grabbed three rebounds. Also cracking double-figures was Davis off the bench with 10 on 4-of-6 shooting and was 2-for-3 at the charity stripe.
 
Harrell recorded career-highs of eight points and six assists while committing only one turnover in 24 minutes of action. Playing just nine minutes because of early foul trouble, Terry scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting and grabbed three boards.
 
Alex Peacock retrieved a game-high seven rebounds and dished out four assists. Alonzo Sule rejected two shots to pace TXST.
 
Texas State shot over 50 percent from the field (50.7) for the second game in-a-row as they went 34-for-67 with a 20-of-32 performance in the second 20 minutes. The Bobcats made 13 three-pointers, the most under Kaspar and since converting 13 at UT Arlington on Feb. 25, 2012.
 
Damage was done in second chance points with a 22-13 advantage and off turnovers as TXST forced 13 and scored 19 points off them while limiting the Pilots to just four points off its own.
 
"So happy for NIjal getting the Most Valuable Player award and Tre making the all-tournament team," Kaspar said. "Nijal has not only played out outstanding this weekend but kept our guys focused on the task at hand. We hope we will have a great turn out against Rice on Wednesday."
 
The Bobcats will take on the Owls at 7 p.m. in Strahan Arena.
 
For more information on the Texas State men's basketball team, visit the official website of Texas State Athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com, like on Facebook at Texas State Men's Basketball and follow on Instagram and Twitter at @TxStateMBB.