Men's Basketball | 2/21/2018 3:43:00 PM

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The first of three consecutive home games to close out the regular season takes place on Thursday when the Texas State men's basketball team faces Georgia State at 7 p.m. in Strahan Coliseum.
 
The Bobcats enter the game 14-14 on the season and 7-8 in the Sun Belt Conference while the Panthers are 19-8 overall and 10-4 in conference play.
 
Bill Culhane will have the call on the radio with the game being broadcast on AM1300 The Zone out of Austin and KTSW 89.9 FM out of San Marcos. Fans can also listen to the game through the iHeartRadio and TuneIn Radio apps on their mobile device. Live stats and video will be available for the game with links on the team's schedule page.
 
Nijal Pearson comes into Thursday's contest leading TXST with 14.5 points per game, 45 made three-pointers and 37 steals. The sophomore is averaging 5.9 rebounds per game and is one of four players shooting over 70 percent at the free throw line.
 
Coming off a career-high 22-point performance on Saturday, Immanuel King increases his scoring mark to 9.4 ppg on a team best 60.1 field goal percentage. The senior also paces the squad with 23 blocks. For his career, King has 61 rejections and is seven shy of tying Kavin Gilder-Tilbury for fifth in Bobcat history.
 
Tyler Blount has connected on a team-high 42.3 percent from beyond the arc with 44 makes. Tre'Larenz Nottingham leads the Bobcats with 2.3 assists per game after handing out a career best eight at ULM on Saturday.
 
Alex Peacock is averaging 6.7 ppg and 5.1 rpg. He has made a team-high 77.4 percent of his free throw attempts and is second on the team with 31 steals.
 
Scouting Georgia State
Georgia State has lost two games in a row after winning 10 consecutive contests. The Panthers are in second place in the SBC standings. When playing on the road this season, they are 8-5 overall and 4-3 against conference foes.
 
D'Marcus Simonds leads the Sun Belt with 21.6 ppg. Along with his point total, he paces GSU in made free throws (117), free throw attempts (164), free throw percentage (71.3), assists (129), turnovers (98) and steals (48). The sophomore is shooting 46.7 percent from the field but is just 28-of-106 (26.4%) on three-point attempts. Simonds is also grabbing 6.1 rpg and has blocked 18 shots.
 
Devin Mitchel is putting up 12.0 ppg on 45.1 percent shooting and paces the league with a 42.9 three-point percentage having connected on 72-of-168 attempts. Jeff Thomas is netting 10.8 ppg with a 45.7 field goal percentage and 38.2 three-point percentage. He has connected on 50 shots from beyond the arc.
 
The fourth Panther to average double-digits in points is Malik Benlevi at 10.2 per contest. He is shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 46.4 percent from long distance with 58 made treys. The junior leads the team with 6.6 rpg and is second with 39 steals and 28 rejections.
 
Jordan Sessions paces the team in field goal percentage (52.6) and blocks (32). His 6.2 rpg and 37 steals rank second among all Panthers while his he netting 7.7 ppg. Isaiah Williams comes in averaging 6.7 ppg with 30 of his 56 made shots coming from beyond the arc.
 
All-Time vs. Panthers
Georgia State leads the all-time series 7-4 over Texas State. The Panthers have won the last two meetings and seven of the nine contests since the Bobcats joined the SBC. In the first matchup this season, TXST fell 54-50 in Atlanta that saw Pearson score a team-high 12 points and King just miss a double-double with nine points and a career best 13 rebounds.
 
When playing in Strahan Coliseum, the Bobcats are 1-3 against GSU. The last time the teams met in San Marcos was Jan. 2, 2016 and the Panthers left with a 58-46 win. Mar. 10, 2016 was the last win for TXST in the series and it came in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament. That day saw Bobby Conley hit the game-winning three-pointer with 2.5 seconds remaining on the clock.
 
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.