SAN MARCOS, Texas– Texas State (5-2) wraps up the Southwestern Showdown at home vs. Hartford (4-4) at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Strahan Arena. The Bobcats are 3-0 in the tournament with two of the wins occurring in San Marcos.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
ESPN+ vs. Hartford: PXP: Brant Freeman, Analyst: Suzanne Fox
Listen vs. Hartford: AM 1300 The Zone, 89.9 KTSW Radio, TuneIn App – Carl Schoening
Live Stats vs. Hartford: Statbroadcast
 
SETTING THE SCENE
• Texas State is on a three-game winning streak after defeating Abilene Christian 61-56 on Monday, Nov. 25. The Bobcats picked up the win with a strong second half defensively, where they held the Wildcats to a .172 shooting percentage (5-of-29), including an 0-of-6 performance from the 3-point line.
• Senior guard Nijal Pearson led the Bobcats with 16 points and pulled down three rebounds.  Sophomores Caleb Asberry, Mason Harrell, and Alonzo Sule all finished with 10 points. Asberry led the team with four steals and the 10 points was a season-high for Sule.
• Overall this season, Texas State leads the Sun Belt Conference in field goal percentage defense (.355), scoring defense (59.1 ppg), and scoring margin (13.7). In these categories, the team ranks No. 14, 31, and 61, respectively, in all of NCAA Division I basketball.
• Pearson leads the Sun Belt with 18.6 points per game (No. 74 in NCAA D1) and 130 total points (No. 23 in NCAA D1). He also leads the league with 46 made field goals this season (No. 27 in NCAA D1).
• Sophomore guard Mason Harrell averages 9.9 points per game followed by junior guard Marlin Davis's 7.8 points per game. Davis has 13 total steals this season which is the fifth most in the Sun Belt and ranks No. 61 in NCAA Division I basketball.
• Junior forward Isiah Small leads the Sun Belt with 56 total rebounds (No. 67 in the NCAA D1) and is No. 4 with 8.0 rebounds per game. Small cleans up the defensive glass with 6.29 per game, No. 2 in the conference and is No. 3 in the Sun Belt with 10 total blocks this season.
• Senior forward Eric Terry leads the Sun Belt with 14 blocks (No. 31 in NCAA D1) and averages 2.0 swats per game which sit at No. 3 in the league and No. 56 in the NCAA. Terry also averages 6.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
• All NCAA statistics are as of Nov. 25. 
 
PEARSON RECORD TRACKER / NOTABLES
• In the latest NCAA statistics, Pearson is one of 10 active NCAA players across all divisions with 1,500 career points and 600 career rebounds.
• Pearson has 1,651 career points that rank No. 3 all-time in TXST history and No. 22 in the NCAA. He is 191 points shy of passing former Bobcat Travis Cornett (1970-74, 1,841 points) for No. 2 all-time.
• The Beaumont, Texas native has 144 career steals, ranking No. 5 in school history (Ryan White No. 4, 154).
• Pearson's 605 career rebounds are tied at No. 74 across all NCAA divisions and ranks No. 14 all-time in the program's history (Charles Spurlin No. 13, 618). Pearson is on pace to finish his career in the top 10 in total rebounds for Texas State.
• Pearson was named to the Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch List on Nov. 5. Pearson appeared on the Lou Henson Mid-Season Watch List last year. He was also picked as the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in a couple of publications including the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and Street & Smith's.
• Pearson was tabbed to the 2019-20 Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team by the league office after garnering All-Sun Belt First Team honors in the 2018-19 season.
 
SCOUTING HARTFORD
• Hartford enters Saturday's game on a two-game losing streak after falling at SMU 90-58. The Falcons are 2-3 in the South Western Showdown.
• As a team, the Falcons average 65.4 points per game and shoot .416 from the floor and .332 from 3-point range. They also have a .662 free-throw percentage.
• Freshman forward Miroslav Stafl leads the team with 12.0 points per game behind a .526 clip from the floor. He also leads the team with six total blocks. Sophomore forward Hunter Marks follows with 10.4 points per game and a team-best 8.0 rebounds per game. Marks shoots 36.4 percent from behind-the-arc (12-of-33) and has five total blocks. Freshman guard Moses Flowers rounds out Hartford's top scorers with 10.3 points per game. He also has 10 total steals, to go along with 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.  
• Hartford was 18-15 overall last season and 10-6 in the American East Conference. They were picked to finish sixth this season in the league's preseason poll.
 
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first meeting between Texas State and Hartford.
 
UP NEXT
• Texas State hits the road for the final time in nonconference play as they take on Houston at 7 p.m. on Dec. 4 at the Fertitta Center.    
 
SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets are now available for purchase through the Texas State online ticket center website. Prices for season tickets will depend upon seating location. General admission season tickets will be available for as low as $99 and lower reserved seating options will start at $130. Any questions regarding 2019-20 Texas State men's basketball season tickets can be addressed to the Texas State Athletics Ticket Office at 512-245-2272 or via email at gametickets@txstate.edu.
 
Stay updated on everything Texas State men's basketball by following the team on Facebook,  Twitter, and Instagram.