SAN MARCOS, Texas– Texas State (1-0) quickly opens its road schedule and will take on Air Force (0-1) at 3 p.m. CT Nov. 9 at Clune Arena in United States Air Force Academy, Colo. This will be the third meeting between the two programs in as many years.  
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Watch vs. Air Force: Mountain West Network
Listen vs. Air Force: 103.1 Austin, TuneIn App – Chad Andrus
Live Stats vs. Air Force: Statbroadcast
 
SETTING THE SCENE
• Texas State comes off a 103-45 victory vs. Texas Lutheran to open the 2019-20 schedule. The Bobcats shot 58.3 percent from the floor, 50.0 percent from 3-point range, and 88.2 percent from the free throw line.
• Five players scored in double figures in the game vs. TLU beginning with senior guard Nijal Pearson who led all players with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. He also had three assists, two rebounds, and two steals.
• Senior forward Eric Terry nearly put up a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds, and sophomore forward Alonzo Sule dropped 12 points to go along with four rebounds two assists and one steal.
• Sophomore guard Mason Harrell and freshman guard Drew Tennial each scored 11 points in the season opener. Harrell finished the game with two assists and one board, while Tennial had a game-high four steals and added three rebounds and one assist.
• Saturday's game vs. AF will be the first of two games this season the Bobcats will play against the Mountain West Conference.
• The Bobcats enter the season receiving six votes in the CollegeInsider.com Men's Basketball Mid-Major Preseason Poll. Texas State appeared in the poll 16 times last season with its highest ranking at No. 17 (Jan. 21).
 
PEARSON NOTABLES / RECORD TRACKER
• 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.
• The three-year letterwinner has 1,540 career points which rank No. 5 in all-time in program history. He is 30 points shy of passing Brandon Bush (2005-09). Bush is currently No. 4 on the list with 1,569 points.
• Pearson made two 3-point field goals in the game vs. Texas Lutheran and is not tied with Clay Click (1998-02) at the top of the record book with 177 career made triples.
• The Beaumont, Texas native now has 140 career steals, ranking No. 5 in school history. Ryan White (2007-11) is at No. 4 with 154 career steals.
  
SCOUTING AIR FORCE
• The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) opened its 2019-20 season with a 10-points setback vs. Idaho State, 89-79. The Falcons shot 51.9 percent from the floor and 88.9 percent from the stripe. However, they were 1-of-11 from behind the arc while their opponent connected on 41.4 percent of their 3-point field goal attempts (12-of-29).
• The Falcons were led by sophomore guard AJ Walker's 17 points, while senior center Ryan Swan and junior guard Chris Joyce each turned in 14 points. Senior forward Lavelle Scottie finished with 13 points and match game-high totals of eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and, one block.
• AF is picked to finish eighth in the 11-team Mountain West Conference. They were picked to finish 10th last season and finished the year with a 14-18 overall record that included an 8-10 mark (T-6th).
• The Falcons return 11 players from the 2018-19 campaign including all five of their starters.
• Headlining the returners is Scottie who was named to the 2019-20 Mountain West Preseason All-Conference team. Scottie entered this season ranked No. 22 in all-time scoring for AF with 1,045 career points. He is the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• TXST and USAFA are tied 1-1 in the all-time series. The teams have played each other in each of the past two seasons.
• Air Force defeated Texas State at Clune Arena 64-57 to open the 2017 season, but the Bobcats returned the favor with a 67-57 victory in last season's opener at Strahan Arena.
 
UP NEXT
• Texas State will return to San Marcos for a mid-week tip vs. Prairie View A&M at 7 p.m. Nov. 12 in Strahan Arena. The Panthers are one of five opponents on the Bobcats 2019-20 schedule that reached the NCAA Tournament last season.    
 
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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