NEW ORLEANS – After dropping its final two games entering the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Tournament, the Texas State men's basketball team (24-8) avenged one of those losses by knocking out No. 8 South Alabama (17-17), 79-67 on Friday at the Lakefront Arena. Senior guard Tre'Larenz Nottingham bounced back with a 19-point performance to lead the Bobcats behind a 3-of-6 clip from 3-point range and a perfect 6-of-6 at the charity stripe.
 
"I was happy to see South Alabama win that game [vs. No. 5 Louisiana] only because I knew our players would be more motivated to play them after they beat us pretty good at their place," said head coach Danny Kaspar. "They are a very good basketball team with a lot of talent. But I still felt like once they won yesterday, it motivated us even more to come ready to play. We felt pretty bad about ourselves after that game in Mobile, Ala."
 
Texas State swarmed South Alabama defensively and forced 20 turnovers that converted into 21 points. In addition to the stout defensive performance, the Bobcats shot 44.4 percent from the floor (24-of-54) and 77.1 percent from the free throw line (27-of-35). Nottingham set the tone early in the first half offensively and finished with three 3-pointers, bringing his total to 81 this season, No. 3 in the program's record book. Senior forward Alex Peacock nearly logged a double-double after scoring 17 points and snatching nine rebounds. Junior guard Nijal Pearson netted 12 and junior Jaylen Shead added 11 points, a game-high seven assists, and four rebounds. Both Pearson and Shead finished with three steals.  
 
Herb McGee dropped a game-high 25 points and led the Jaguars with four assists. Senior guard Rodrick Sikes scored 15 points with 12 of them coming from behind-the-arc, and graduate Kory Holden rounded out the top scorers for South Alabama with 11 points. The Bobcats held the Jaguars leading scorer, Josh Ajayi to seven points after he torched No. 5 Louisiana the previous night with 25 points.
 
"It was a good win," Kaspar noted. "I believe the key to this win was keeping No. 33 Josh Ajayi pretty much in check. He's a very good basketball player. [Herb] McGee stepped up in his [Ajayi] absence and hurt us with some good shooting, but overall I think we executed well and played good defense. I am very proud of how our players performed."
 
The Bobcats got back to their identity in the first half as they forced 12 turnovers and held the Jaguars to 39 percent (7-of-18) shooting from the field. Texas State had a good flow offensively as well and started the game 4-of-6 from the floor by the first media timeout. After both teams struggled to score for a few minutes, the Maroon and Gold went on a massive 20-4 run, including a 14-1 burst for a 14-point lead at 26-12, capped by Nottingham's second triple of the game. The Jaguars hit a few buckets late to close the gap, but the Bobcats entered intermission with a 34-28 lead.
 
USA's Ajayi tried to get going with five quick points, but Texas State responded by outscoring its opponent 14-2. The Jaguars refused to quit, however, and went on to score the next 11 points to cut the lead to 52-46 before senior forward Eric Terry fought through a foul to stop the run and ignite a Bobcat 7-0 run. However, South Alabama made another push and cut the lead down to six after a 3-pointer from Holden on the left wing with 5:12 remaining. That would be the closest the Jags would get for the remainder of the game however, as the Bobcats finished out the final five minutes at the free throw line shooting 18-of-22, including a perfect 10-of-10 in the final minute and a half.
 
The win pencils Texas State to its second semifinals appearance in three seasons and will match up against No. 1 Georgia State at 3 p.m. on March 16. The Bobcats and Panthers split the regular season series with both teams winning as the visiting team.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Texas State leads the all-time series vs. South Alabama 8-3 with this game being the first neutral site game.
• The Bobcats ends their two-game skid and are 3-0 in neutral game sites this year.
• The Bobcats dominated the Jaguars in the paint 32-14 and on the glass 37-23. They also outscored the Jags 17-5 in second chance points thanks to a 15 offensive rebounds.
• Texas State forced their opponent in 20 or more turnovers for just the third time this season (Hardin Simmons, 22-Nov. 13, vs. USC Upstate, 20-Nov. 23).
• The Bobcats finish with four players scoring in double figures for the ninth time this year.
• Tre'Larenz Nottingham moved to No. 7 and passed Terry Conerway (2002-04) for most career made 3-pointers. Nottingham now has 127 3-pointers at Texas State.
• Jaylen Shead logged his third consecutive game with seven assists and ninth overall this season.
 
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