LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Nijal Pearson scored 23 points and Eric Terry and Tre'Larenz Nottingham combined for 23 more to lead the Texas State men's basketball team to a 67-60 victory at Little Rock on Saturday afternoon in the Jack Stephens Center.
 
Terry ended the game with 12 points after making six layups. Nottingham, who finished with 11 points and a game-high six rebounds, scored nine of his points in the first half to lead Texas State (21-5, 10-3 Sun Belt Conference) to a 36-26 lead at halftime.
 
Pearson scored the first five points in the game when he drove for a layup and hit a three-point shot from the top of the key. Little Rock rallied to take a 15-11 lead with 10:51 left in the opening half. But Terry made two of his layups on Texas State's next two possessions to begin a 15-0 run as Texas State took a 26-15 lead and never trailed again in the game.
 
The Bobcats were leading 44-33 before Little Rock rallied to close the margin to four points, 57-53, with 4:43 left to play.
 
Texas State pushed the lead back to eight with a pair of layups from Pearson and Nottingham, combined with two free throws by Jaylen Shead to make the score 63-55.
 
Little Rock (10-16, 5-8 Sun Belt) rallied one last time when Rayjon Tucker, who led the home team with 20 points, made a layup to pull the Trojans back to within 63-60 with 1:26 left to play.
 
However, the Bobcats were able to clinch the victory with Mason Harrell and Pearson each hitting a pair of free throws to make the final score 67-60.
 
The victory gives Texas State 21 regular season wins for the first time since 1993-94 when the Bobcats won 22 games during the regular season in route to a 25-7 final record. The Bobcats also recorded their fourth straight win and have sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt Conference standings.
 
Texas State will try to win its fifth straight game next Thursday in Strahan Arena when the Bobcats host ULM in a Sun Belt game that tips off at 7 p.m.