SAN MARCOS, Texas– The 2019-20 season is officially here as the Texas State men's basketball team lace up for a 7:30 p.m. tip Nov. 5 vs. Texas Lutheran at Strahan Arena.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
ESPN+ vs. Texas Lutheran: PxP: Brant Freeman, Analyst: Suzanne Fox
Listen vs. Texas Lutheran: AM1300 Austin, 89.9 FM San Marcos, TuneIn App – Clint Shields
Live Stats vs. Texas Lutheran: Statbroadcast
 
SETTING THE SCENE
The Bobcats are coming off a 91-54 exhibition win vs. Cameron on Nov. 1. Senior guard Nijal Pearson led the team with 22 points and nine rebounds. Pearson shot 50.0 percent from deep and was a solid 5-of-6 at the charity stripe. Sophomore forward Alonzo Sule came off the bench and dropped 13 points, converting 7-of-8 at the free-throw line and had eight rebounds.  Junior forward Isiah Small followed with 11 points and led the team with two blocks. Sophomore guard Mason Harrell and junior guard Marlin Davis both dished out five assists to pace the team and had eight and five points, respectively.
 
The Bobcats enter the season receiving six votes in the CollegeInsider.com Men's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. Of the Bobcats opponents this year, South Alabama comes in at No. 25 while UT Arlington (72), Georgia Southern (25), Abilene Christian (5), and Prairie View A&M (2) are all receiving votes.
 
Texas State returns eight players from last year's team, spearheaded by Pearson who was a 2018-19 All-Sun Belt First Team selection. Pearson will enter the 2019-20 season with 1,521 career points which rank No. 5 all-time in the record book. He also sits No. 2 with 175 career made 3-point field goals. Pearson led the team last season with 16.4 points per game and pulled down 5.1 rebounds on average. Another returning starter for the Bobcats is senior forward Eric Terry. Terry shot 69.3 percent from the floor in the 2018-19 campaign which is the second-highest percentage in a single season in the program's history. Other returners for the Bobcats consist of senior forward Chandler Davis, juniors Shelby Adams, Quentin Scott, and Davis, and sophomores Harrell and Sule.
 
The Maroon and Gold will have many new faces as they welcome seven newcomers, five of which are transfers and a couple of true freshmen. Headlining the group of newbies is Small. Small played two seasons at Seward County Community College under the 2019 Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) Coach of the Year Jason Sautter. In the 2018-19 season, Small averaged 15 points behind a team-best 63.0 field goal percentage and led the Saints with 6.7 rebounds and two blocks per game. For his efforts, Small was tabbed to the All-KJCCC First Team, named the Defensive Player of the Year, honored to the 2019 NJCAA Region VI Division I First Team, and garnered NJCAA Division I All-American Honorable Mention status.   
 
The Bobcats 2019-20 schedule is comprised of 31 games that feature 17 played in front of the Bobcat faithful, including five of the first eight to start the season. The competitive schedule displays five teams that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago such as Abilene Christian, Baylor, Georgia State, Houston, and Prairie View A&M. TXST's season opener will be at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5 vs. Texas Lutheran at Strahan Arena.
 
The Bobcats are coming off a 2018-19 campaign that saw a 24-10 overall record, including a 12-6 conference mark, the most wins overall since the 1993-94 season and the most conference wins since joining the Sun Belt in 2013. Texas State made its second CIT postseason appearance in three years, but fell to Florida International, 87-81.
 
SCOUTING TEXAS LUTHERAN
The Texas Lutheran Bulldogs are the defending Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Tournament Champions and shared the regular-season title with Southwestern. They have won four of the last five SCAC Championships. The Bulldogs made an appearance to the 2019 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship where they fell to No. 2 Whitman College (Wash.) in the first round 102-79. TLU was 18-10 overall that included an 11-5 record in conference play. They averaged 74.9 points per game on a 42.6 field goal percentage. They also pulled down 35.5 rebounds per game and 14.1 assists.
 
The majority of the Bulldogs players from last season have graduated, however, including six of their top seven scorers. Junior guard Sebastian Andrade will return to the team and is the only returning starter. Andrade averaged 11.3 points per game and 4.2 rebounds to go along with 32 assists and 21 steals in the 2018-19 campaign.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Bobcats and Bulldogs will meet for the first time since the 2014-15 season. TXST leads the all-time series 26-7 and is currently on a 13-game winning streak.
 
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.
 
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