SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team (1-0) had a good run to open the 2019-20 season as they defeated Texas Lutheran 103-45 Tuesday night at Strahan Arena. The victory was head coach Danny Kaspar's 99th with the Maroon and Gold.
 
"It is good to get a win at home," said Coach Kaspar. "The guys executed majority of the things I asked for entering this game. I am very impressed with our free throw shooting tonight and I hope that continues. Lastly, I was very pleased with tonight's crowd. Last year we would not have won 24 games without the fans and tonight was a great start for this year."
 
NUMBERS DON'T LIE

• Five Bobcats finished the game with 10 or more points, beginning with senior guard Nijal Pearson. Pearson scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor including two from 3-point range. Pearson's two made triples brings his career total to 177, tying Clay Click (1998-02) as the all-time leaders. Pearson also led all players with three assists.
• Senior forward Eric Terry nearly put up a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. Terry was a perfect 10-of-10 at the charity stripe as the team shot 88.2 percent at the line.
• Sophomore Alonzo Sule had 12 points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while classmate and point guard Mason Harrell dropped 11 points to go along with two assists.
• Freshman guard Drew Tennial rounded out the Bobcats top scorers with 11 points that included a 5-of-5 performance from the free throw line. Tennial also led all players with four steals on the night and added three rebounds and one assist.

 HOW IT HAPPENED

• Texas State led 57-18 at the half and was led by Pearson's 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor.
• Terry followed with 12 points and had a game-high five rebounds by the intermission.
• The Bobcats cooled off to begin the second stanza and was outscored by the Bulldogs 12-7 before getting their groove back with an 18-7 run to go-ahead 82-37. The Bobcats would close the game strong with a 94-43 final.

 INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Bobcats made their first 11 shots of the contest to build a 32-11 lead with 10:52 on the clock in the first half.
• TXST shot 58.3 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from three.
• The Maroon and Gold forced the Bulldogs into 22 turnovers that they converted into 36 points. They also outworked their opponent in the paint 48-12 and the Bobcat bench outscored the Bulldogs 46-15.

 UP NEXT
Texas State will face its first test of the season when they travel to Colorado to challenge Air Force at 3 p.m. CT Nov. 9 at Clune Arena.