MONROE, La. – Senior Immanuel King scored a career-high 22 points as he made 10-of-14 shots and was 2-of-3 at the free throw line in the Texas State men's basketball team's 79-71 loss at ULM in Fant-Ewing Coliseum Saturday afternoon.
 
The Bobcats drop to 14-14 on the season and 7-8 in the Sun Belt Conference while the Warhawks are now 13-12 overall and 7-7 in conference play.
 
"This is obviously a very disappointing loss. We played a team that is playing very well and are a different team than we faced the first time around," said head coach Danny Kaspar. "Our issues are more mental than physical. So many close losses have taken a toll on us, and psychological we have to find a way to get a win to bounce back and be ourselves again."
 
After falling behind 8-4 three and a half minutes into the game, TXST went on an 18-6 run that began with a floater from Tyler Blount and lasted 5:58. Twice Nijal Pearson knocked down a three-pointer and Blount added a trey as well.
 
ULM cut the advantage down to three before Nedljko Prijovic hit a three-pointer from the right corner.
 
With a little over three and a half minutes to go in the opening stanza, the Warhawks cut the lead to 29-28 before King tipped in a missed shot to increase the advantage to three with 3:14 on the clock. That would be the last points for TXST in the half as ULM scored the final nine points to take a 37-31 lead into halftime.
 
A jumper by Pearson for the first basket of the second half cut the deficit to four. That would be as close as the Bobcats would get the rest of the game. ULM eventually stretched its lead to 15 twice, the last being with 7:52 remaining in the game.
 
In a five-and-a-half-minute span, King netted 11 straight points for TXST. Pearson converted an old-fashion three-point play for the final points of the game and cut the loss to single-digits.
 
Tallying 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting with two made three-pointers and converting all three free throw attempts was Pearson. The sophomore also grabbed six rebounds, handed out two assists and blocked a shot.
 
Tre'Larenz Nottingham also reached double-figures with 10 points with a 4-for-9 performance from the field with two made treys. He also dished out a career-high eight assists while grabbing six boards and recording two steals.
 
Finishing with five rebounds and a career best two rejections was Alex Peacock.
 
Off the bench, Prijovic scored seven points and Eric Terry netted six.
 
TXST made 30-of-61 (49.2%) from the field but were 6-of-22 (27.3%) from beyond the arc.
 
Next up for Texas State is a home game with Georgia State on Thursday 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 Instagram and Twitter at @TxStateMBB and like on Facebook at /TexasStateMensBasketball.