Box Score SAN MARCOS, Texas – It was a convincing win for the home team as Texas State (10-8, 3-4 Sun Belt) routed Appalachian State (9-9, 3-4 Sun Belt) 82-57 on Saturday evening at Strahan Arena.

The Bobcats had a wire-to-wire performance to pick up their second straight victory in conference play and their 10th overall this season. They led by as many as 34 points in the game and finished with season-highs of 19 assists, a 50.0 3-point field goal percentage (10-of-20), and a 94.1 free-throw percentage (16-of-17). They also had a good defensive game where they held the Mountaineers to 37.8 percentage (17-of-45) from the floor and .333 clip from 3-point range (4-of-12). The Bobcats also forced 15 turnovers that they turned into 15 points.

 Senior guard Nijal Pearson turned in his fifth consecutive game with 20 or more points, finishing with 22 on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 from behind-the-arc. He also tallied five rebounds and two assists. Sophomore forward Alonzo Sule followed with a season-high 18 points (7-of-8) to go along with six rebounds, and sophomore guard Mason Harrell registered 15 points (5-of-6) and had three assists, two steals, and one block. In his first career start, junior guard Quentin Scott had 11 points (3-of-7) and shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. He also totaled six rebounds, three assists, and one steal. All measures are season-highs or matched a season-high.
   
Junior guard Justin Forest was the only Mountaineer to score in double figures and concluded with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Senior forward Hunter Seacat was behind him with nine points.

Texas State now leads Appalachian State 7-5 in the all-time series and extends its winning streak to three games. The Bobcats are also 4-2 in head-to-head games vs. the Mountaineers in games played in San Marcos.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Texas State had a solid first half, shooting 62.5 percent from the floor (15-of-24) while holding App to a mere 25.0 percent first-half (5-of-20). Harrell set the tone by scoring the first seven points for the Bobcats, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key to help the home team take an 11-4 lead by the first media timeout.  TXST continued to roll from there and used an 11-0 run capped off by a jump shot from Pearson to go up 38-17 with 1:41 remaining in the half. They ultimately went into halftime with a 41-20 lead led by Harrell's 12 points who was 4-of-4 overall, 2-of-2 from behind-the-arc, and 2-of-2 at the free-throw line.
 
Second Half
Pearson took over in the second half for the second consecutive game and dropped 14 total points on 4-of-9 shooting, all 3-point field goals. He started by going on a personal 8-0 run to open the half and the Bobcats never looked back as they led by as many as 34 points at 63-29 highlighted by 9-0 burst with triples from Pearson (2) and sophomore guard Caleb Asberry. Sule turned it on in the second half with 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting and pulled down three rebounds. He was also 4-of-4 at the free-throw line.
 
 GAME NOTES
• The Bobcats are now 4-0 when four players score in double figures and 7-1 overall in games decided by 11 or more points.
• TXST is 4-1 overall when shooting over 50.0 percent from the floor and 1-1 in conference play.
• Texas State is 7-3 (2-2 in the Sun Belt) when leading at the half this season.
• The Bobcats outrebounded the Mountaineers 29-27 to improve to 7-1 this year when doing so.
• Texas State is now 7-0 when holding its opponent under 60 points and set a new season-high of 82 points vs. a Division I opponent.
• The Bobcats' 10 3-point field goals is a new season-high.
• Texas State ended the first half on a 14-3 scoring run that expanded to 22-3 margin in the second half.
• The Bobcats outscored the Mountaineers from the bench (34-10), in the paint (28-20), off of turnovers (15-12), and on fast breaks (11-6).
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• Pearson has 1,876 career points and now needs nine points to become the program's all-time leading scorer (Charles Sharp, 1956-60, 1,884).
• Pearson has scored 20 or more points in five consecutive games, nine times this season, and 26 times in his career.
• Sule scored over 10 points for the sixth time this season. The last time he scored 18 points was on Feb. 14, 2019 at Arkansas State.
• Sule and Scott accounted for 12 of the team's 29 rebounds.
• After scoring no points and fouling out last game, Harrell responded and logged a 10-point game for the first time since scoring 17 at Little Rock on Feb. 2, 2020. It is his 10th game this season scoring in double figures.
• Junior guard Marlin Davis had a game-high five assists.  
 
QUOTES
Head coach Danny Kaspar's initial thoughts on the win…
"It was a good win for our team. I appreciate how the guys have bounced back since our loss to Troy and we needed to do this. I wanted Nijal [Pearson] to break the scoring record tonight but I thought Quentin [Scott] came in and did well for Isiah Small, and I think Alonzo [Sule] played the way I have been expecting him to play all year. It was really good to see many of our players step up and if we can get more performances like this consistently, we will be a really tough team to beat. "
 
Junior forward Quentin Scott about his first start …
"I did not find out I was starting until about 15 minutes before the game so I was really excited that I got the opportunity. I have been playing basketball all my life, so I was not nervous or felt any added pressure. I was just locked in from tip and ready to go."
 
Sophomore forward Alonzo Sule on the team's defense and his personal performance in the second half.…
"I think our coaches came up with a good game plan for us and we followed and executed it well. We disrupted a lot of their plays and tried to be more physical. In the second half personally, I just found my spots and tried to continue to be aggressive."
 
UP NEXT
Texas State hits the road again as they will play two games in the Bayou beginning with a 7 p.m. tip on Jan. 16 vs. ULM at the Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, La. The Bobcats will conclude the trip with a 7 p.m. game on Jan. 18 vs. Louisiana at the Cajundome in Lafayette, La.  
 
Stay updated on everything Texas State men's basketball by following the team on Facebook,  Twitter, and Instagram.