SAN MARCOS, Texas – It was a tale of two halves when the Texas State men's basketball team defeated Coastal Carolina 65-57 Saturday afternoon in Strahan Arena.
 
Nijal Pearson led the Bobcats with 17 points after making 7-of-8 free throws. Alex Peacock and Tre'Larenz Nottingham added 14 points each, and Peacock grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
 
Zac Cuthbertson led Coastal Carolina with 15 points and seven rebounds, while DeVante Jones netted 10 points for the Chanticleers.
 
The game was played in front of 4,583 fans, the fifth-largest crowd to watch a basketball game in Strahan Arena. The Bobcats have had three of the school's six largest home basketball crowds in school history during their three-game homestand against UT Arlington, Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina.
 
Texas State (19-8, 8-3 in the Sun Belt) jumped out to an early 21-8 lead in the first nine minutes of the Saturday's game after Coastal Carolina missed its first seven shots from the field. Peacock scored 7 of his 14 points during that stretch. The Bobcats never trailed in the game and held a 38-23 advantage at halftime.
 
Coastal Carolina (12-11, 6-5 in the Sun Belt) climbed back into contention when the Chanticleers opened the second half with an 8-0 run to close to within seven points, 38-31, with 17:46 remaining to play.
 
However, Texas State answered with a 10-2 rally of its own to extend its lead to 49-33. Alonzo Sule began the run with a dunk shot, and Peacock scored the next five points on a jumper and three-point shot from the left baseline. Then, Pearson scored the final four points with a jumper in the lane and a layup to extend TXST's lead to 49-33 with 12:32 left to play.
 
Texas State was leading 55-39 when Coastal Carolina made one last charge to get back into contention. The Chanticleers took advantage of the Bobcats missing their next four shots and turning the ball over four times. DaVante Jones scored six points and Tommy Burton added four more points to pull the Chanticleers back to within 57-54 with 3:14 left to play.
 
Pearson stopped their comeback bid when he made four free throws, and Nottingham hit Eric Terry for a layup and made two more free throws to clinch Texas State's 10th victory in Strahan Arena this season.
 
The win keeps Texas State tied with UT Arlington atop the Sun Belt Conference standings after the Mavericks defeated Appalachian State 78-68 Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats will look to win their third straight game when they travel to Arkansas State on Feb. 14. Texas State also plays at Little Rock on Feb. 16 before returning to Strahan Arena to host ULM on Feb. 21 and Louisiana on Feb. 23.