SAN ANTONIO - Nijal Pearson scored a game-high 26 points and the Texas State men's basketball team scored four points in the final 11 seconds to beat UTSA 69-68 Saturday afternoon at the UTSA Convocation Center.
 
"I thought that this was a very intense and exciting game," head coach Danny Kaspar said. "This was a good win because we didn't play well offensively and still won. I feel very fortunate."
 
Pearson hit three of his points with the Bobcats trailing 68-65 with 11 seconds left when he drilled a three-point shot from the top of the key. Then, Jaylen Shead grabbed a defensive rebound on a missed second-shot attempt by Byron Frohnen and was fouled by Keaton Wallace with nine-tenths of a second left on the clock.
 
Shead made the first free throw and tried to deliberately miss the second, but failed to hit the rim and allowed the Roadrunners to inbounds the ball and set up a final play.
 
Texas State deflected the inbounds pass and Pearson knocked the ball up in the air as the final horn sounded to clinch the victory.
 
"Our offensive efficiency wasn't very good, but we hung in there," Kaspar said. "Overall, our defense was pretty good. They have some really good offensive players and to beat them on their home court is real treat for me, our team and our program."
 
Both teams exchanged 7-2 runs in the first nine minutes of the game and the score was tied  at 9-9 with 11:00 left in the first half. UTSA held a 15-9 lead before Shelby Adams made a layup and Alonzo Sule each added a layup to tie the score again.
 
Texas State took its first lead in the game with 1:34 left to play in the first half when Pearson hit a three-point shot. After UTSA's Jhivvan Jackson answered with a trey of his own, Pearson hit another three-pointer from the top of the key to give the Bobcats a 28-27 lead with 59 seconds left to play in the first half. That is how the opening period ended with Pearson leading both teams with 14 points and seven rebounds.
 
The Bobcats opened the second half with Pearson making another trey from the top of the key to extend Texas State's lead to 31-27. However, UTSA's Ktem Bior scored four points on a pair of free throws and a layup on a fast break.
 
The two teams exchanged baskets until Alex Peacock hit a three-point shot to give the Bobcats a 49-48 lead. Jaylen Shead made a layup on a hook shot to extend the lead to 51-48.
 
After Peacock made another three-pointer left of the key, Shead extended the lead to 56-50 when he made a jumper from the free throw line with time running out on the shot clock.
 
Jackson made two consecutive three-point shots to give UTSA a 59-58 lead with 4:33 left to play, but Peacock answered with another three-pointer of his own to give the Bobcats a 61-59 lead.
 
"Alex hit some big threes down the stretch," Kaspar said. "He was silent for three-quarters of the game, but in that last 10 minutes he was very instrumental in the win."
 
Peacock made one of his two free throws to give Texas State a 62-59 lead with 3:40 left.
 
But, UTSA tied the score again when Jackson made a pair of free throws to make the score 63-63 with 1:48 left to play.
 
Texas State regained a 65-63 lead with 1:11 left to play when Tre'Larenz Nottingham made a layup after Pearson blocked Frohnen's shot. Jackson answered 10 seconds later with a three-point shot from the left baseline.
 
After Nottingham turned the ball over, Jackson was fouled and made a free throw with 24 seconds left. Tthe Bobcats called timeout before Jackson made his second free throw to make the score 68-65. That is when the Pearson hit his three-point shot to tie the game and Shead made his free throw to seal the victory.
 
"Jaylen's free throw was big," Kaspar remarked. "He hit that free throw to win the game. It was a good win because it looked like we might lose it, but we were fortunate that a foul was called on them. I was glad we won without going into overtime."
 
In addition to Pearson's game-high 26 points, Peacock finished the game with 15 points, Sule scored eight points and Shead finished with seven. Jackson led UTSA with 22 points, while Wallace had 19 and DeNicolao netted 13 points.

The victory improves Texas State's record to 7-1 this season, the best start for the Bobcats since 1980-81. TXST's next game is at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 5. The Bobcats return to Strahan Arena on Dec. 8 when they host Houston Baptist.