SAN MARCOS, Texas– The Bobcat faithful will get a taste of rivalry basketball in December as Texas State (6-3) host UTSA (2-6) in the annual I-35 rivalry game at 4 p.m. Dec. 7 at Strahan Arena.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
ESPN + vs. UTSA: PXP: Brant Freeman, Analyst: Suzanne Fox
Listen vs. UTSA: AM 1300 The Zone, 89.9 KTSW, TuneIn App – Bill Culhane
Live Stats vs. UTSA: Statbroadcast
 
SETTING THE SCENE
• Texas State's four-game winning streak ended after a hard-fought 68-60 setback at Houston.
• The Bobcats still have a five-game winning streak at home intact to start the season that they will put on the line. This is the first of two games remaining in nonconference play with both games being played in San Marcos.
• Defense continues to be the battle cry for the Bobcats as they hold their opponents to 59.7 points per game and lead the Sun Belt in field goal percentage defense at .353, a mark that ranks No. 9 in the nation. They also rank No. 2 in the Sun Belt with 36 total blocks.
• Offensively, Texas State is averaging 71.0 points per game behind a 46.2 field goal percentage (No. 3 in the Sun Belt), leading to an 11.3 scoring margin that leads the league and sits at No. 73 in the NCAA. The Maroon and Gold have improved in their free-throw shooting and total 142 free-throws made (leads the Sun Belt) and have a 73.6 free-throw percentage that is No. 2 in the league.
• Senior guard Nijal Pearson is No. 3 in the Sun Belt with 18.0 points per game behind a 43.8 field goal percentage and .362 clip from 3-point range. He also averages 4.3 rebounds per game and has 14 assists, nine steals and five blocks on the year.
• Sophomore guard Mason Harrell follows with 10.2 points per game and leads the team with an efficient 57.9 field goal percentage. He also shoots 80.8 percent at the charity stripe and has 27 assists and nine steals.
• Junior forward Isiah Small ranks No. 4 in the Sun Belt with 7.9 rebounds per game and is third in the league with 5.8 defensive rebounds per game. Small also joins senior forward Eric Terry in the top five of the conference with 1.3 blocks per game (No. 5). Terry is forth with 1.6 swats per game. Small averages 6.9 points and Terry has 5.6 on average.
 
PEARSON RECORD TRACKER / NOTABLES
• Pearson is one of 10 active NCAA players across all divisions with 1,500 career points and 600 career rebounds.
• Pearson has 1,683 career points that rank No. 3 all-time in TXST history and No. 23 among active players in the NCAA across all divisions. He is 159 points shy of passing former Bobcat Travis Cornett (1970-74, 1,841 points) for No. 2 all-time.
• The Beaumont, Texas native has 147 career steals, ranking No. 5 in school history (Ryan White No. 4, 154).
• Pearson has 611 career rebounds that rank 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 UTSA
• UTSA is 2-6 on the year but comes off a 22-point victory vs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (89-67) on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
• The Roadrunners have lost seven consecutive road games dating back to last season and are 0-5 this year. Their other win this year was a 90-68 decision vs. Wiley College against Wiley College at the UTSA Convocation Center.
•  UTSA has a 79-72 loss to Prairie View A&M (Nov. 30) on its resume this year. Texas State defeated PVAMU 75-48 on Nov. 12.
• Overall this season, the Roadrunners average 71.1 points per game and shoot .387 from the floor, .293 from behind-the-arc, and .776 at the free-throw line. They surrender 77.4 points per game and their opponents have shot 47.4 percent from the field. They do, however, force 13.1 turnovers per game which is the third-most in Conference USA.
• Junior guard Jhivvan Jackson ranks No. 5 in the nation with 23.9 points per game and his 191 total points are the ninth-most in the nation. He shoots 38.6 percent from the floor, 27,6 from 3-point land, and averages 4.6 rebounds per game to go along with 14 total assists and 11 total steals.
• Junior guard Keaton Wallace follows with 15.1 points per game and averages 5.1 rebounds. Wallace leads the team with 34 assists and 20 steals.   
 
SERIES HISTORY
• This will be the 63rd meeting between the two teams.
• UTSA leads the all-time series 35-27 but the teams are 5-5 in the last 10 games head-to-head.
• Texas State narrowly defeated UTSA last season, 69-68 in San Antonio.
• In last year's game, Person led all players with 26 points with half of his 10 made field goals coming from downtown.
 
UP NEXT
The Bobcats will have an eight-day break before they play its final nonconference game vs. Bethany College at 5 p.m. on Dec. 15 at Strahan Arena.     
 
Stay updated on everything Texas State men's basketball by following the team on Facebook,  Twitter, and Instagram.