WACO, Texas – Texas State (2-2) fought their way to a 30-30 tie at halftime on the road at No. 24 Baylor (2-1), but ultimately fell 72-63 at the Ferrell Center on Friday night. Senior guard Nijal Pearson posted a 20-point performance and is now 26 points away from passing Donte Mathis (1,622 points; 1995-99) for third-most in school history.
 
BOBCAT NUMBERS
• Texas State shot .430 percent (26-of-61) from the field and outshot Baylor's .410 percent (25-of-61). The Bobcats drilled 6-of-17 threes at a .350 clip compared to the Bears 6-of-23 long-distance performance at .260.
• Pearson collected his second 20-point outburst of the year on an 8-of-19 from the floor with four triples. He scored 13 points in the second half and connected on 3-of-6 treys.
• Sophomore guard Caleb Asberry joined Pearson in double digits and netted 12 points on an efficient 5-for-8 evening.
• Junior forward Isiah Small registered a career-high 12 rebounds in 28 minutes.
• Tonight's matchup at No. 24 Baylor is the first game Texas State has played against a ranked opponent since it traveled to No. 8 Texas in 2014.
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• TXST scored in the first two minutes into the night on junior guard DeShawn Davidson's mid-range jump shot. Baylor was quick to strike back utilizing two threes and a free throw to claim a seven-point lead.
• Despite trailing by 13 points at the 12:08 mark of the first half, the Bobcats rallied to end the half on an 8-0 run to go into halftime tied at 30.
• Texas State shot .464 percent in the first half (13-for-28) and drilled 2-of-5 3-pointers. Pearson and Asberry both led the team with seven first-half points.
• Both sides scored a bucket to begin the second half, but then the host Bears went on a 16-0 run to grab a 50-34 lead at the 13:12 mark of the second.
• Baylor's lead ballooned to 18 points with 7:12 remaining in the second, but the Bobcats sliced it to single digits with a 13-2 run to trail by just six at the 4:00 interval. Pearson scored eight of the 13 points and drilled two treys.
• Baylor hit a three with 3:27 to play to go back up by double-digits to erase any chance of a Bobcats comeback.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Baylor connected on 16-of-24 from the charity stripe and shot more than three times as many free throws as Texas State (5-of-7).
• TXST led in bench points (27-16) while Baylor led in points off turnovers (21-17), rebounds (34-31), second chance points (10-7), points in the paint (32-22) and fast break points (24-10).
• The Bobcats limited Baylor to .220 percent long-range shooting (2-for-9) in the second half.
 
UP NEXT
Texas State will return home for a 7 p.m. tilt against Jackson State on Monday, Nov. 18, marking the first of four games as part of the Southwestern Showdown presented by Engage Telehealth with three inside Strahan Arena.
 
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