SAN MARCOS, Texas – Senior guard Nijal Pearson moves to No. 2 all-time on the program's scoring list after erupting for 29 points to lead Texas State (9-8, 2-4 Sun Belt) past Coastal Carolina (10-7, 3-3 Sun Belt) 78-66 on Thursday night at Strahan Arena.
 

.@NijalUno has moved into second in all-time scoring for @TxStateMBB! He passed Travis Cornett by scoring his 1,842nd point early in the second half. #EatEmUp pic.twitter.com/UpR1cEx2Jb

— Texas State Bobcats (@TxStateBobcats) January 10, 2020

After the Chants dropped 43 points behind eight 3-pointers, the Bobcats locked down defensively in the second half and outscored their opponent 44-23 while holding them scoreless from behind-the-arc (0-of-11). The Bobcats scored a season-best 78 points vs. a Division I opponent.

 Pearson's jump shot at the 9:23 mark in the second half sparked what would balloon into an 18-4 run that put the home team ahead 70-60 with 2:24 remaining in the game. Ultimately, the Bobcats closed the half on a 26-10 run from the moment of Pearson's jumper to the conclusion of the game to secure the upset and get right back into the conference title race.

Pearson matched a season-high 11 field goals (11-of-20) and set new season-highs with five assists and four steals. He also added four rebounds. Junior forward Isiah Small registered his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds and had one assist and one steal in the victory. Junior guard Marlin Davis scored a season-high 14 points and finished with four assists, three steals, and was a perfect 6-of-6 at the stripe, while sophomore guard Caleb Asberry also chipped in 14 points and was 90.0 percent from the free-throw line (9-of-10) and has six rebounds.
 
Sophomore guard DeVante Jones logged a double-double for the Chants, finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds despite recording just six points and four rebounds in the second half. Junior guard Keishawn Brewton followed with 16 points and ended the game with two assists, two rebounds and one steal.
The win extends the Bobcats' streak to four consecutive wins over the Chanticleers and improves their all-time series record to 7-2 (2-2 at home).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The Bobcats made a move early thanks to a 10-0 run that put the home team ahead 17-8 with 12:19 on the clock. However, the Chanticleers answered quickly with a 10-2 burst to tie the game at 21 and moments later, put together a 7-0 run to take a 28-25 lead. Coastal led by as many as 11 points at 43-32 and went into the locker room with a 43-34 lead. Pearson led the Bobcats with 13 points and both teams shot 50.0 percent or better from the field and from 3-point range in the half.
 
Second Half
Texas State opened the frame by outscoring the Chants 16-8 behind a 7-0 run with five of those points coming from Pearson to cut into the Chants' lead to 51-50. The home team then went on an 8-0 run highlighted by a triple from Davis to put the Bobcats ahead 57-56 with 9:05 on the clock. The Bobcats held the lead for the remainder of the contest as they extended their margin as large as 15 points to run away with the game late.
   
 GAME NOTES
• The Bobcats are now 3-0 when four players score in double figures and 6-1 overall in games decided by 11 or more points.
• TXST is 5-2 when scoring 70 or more points this season and 2-0 when doing so in Sun Belt Conference games.
• It was Texas State's first win in conference play when trailing at the half (1-2). They are 2-4 overall when playing from behind after the first 20 minutes.
• Texas State shot just 46.2 percent at the free-throw line (6-of-13) in the first half but was 88.5 percent in the second half (23-of-26).
• Both teams made just nine field goals in the second half.
• The Bobcats scored a season-high 78 points vs. a Division I opponent this season.
• TXST is now 7-2 at home this season and
• The Bobcats forced 18 turnovers that translated into 21 points. They also outscored the Chants bench 30-17.
• Coastal Carolina won the rebounding battle (40-36), points in the paint (30-12), second-chance points (20-11), and fast break points (10-6).
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• Pearson passed former Bobcat Travis Cornett (1970-74, 1,841 points) on the all-time scoring list and now needs 31 points to become the program's all-time leading scorer (Charles Sharp, 1956-60, 1,884).
• Pearson turned in his fourth consecutive game with 20 or more points, eighth game this season with that type of scoring output, and the 25th of his career.
• After recording four steals, Pearson's 158 career steals rank No. 4 behind Donte Mathis who has 161 career steals.
• Small has four games this season with 10 or more rebounds.
• Davis was one-point shy of tying his career-high of 15 points which dates back to Dec. 22, 2017 at Rice. It was his first game in double figures since scoring 11 on Dec. 15, 2019 vs. Bethany College and first time doing it against a Division I program since Nov. 15, 2019 at Baylor.
 
QUOTES
Head coach Danny Kaspar's thoughts on the second half…
"We played with a ton of energy in the second half. I am very fortunate that after giving up 43 in the first half, we held them [Coastal Carolina] to just 23 points in the second. I got after them at halftime and I am not sure if that was the key, but I thought we played very inspired in the final 20 minutes."
 
Junior forward Isiah Small on his rebounding night …
"Honestly, the coaches have been hard on me every day about rebounding in practice. It made me a little upset so I wanted to go out and get rebounds so they could get off of my back a little bit. They were still on me tough though."
 
Sophomore guard Caleb Asberry on his free-throw shooting.…
"As a team we shoot well from the free-throw line and coach emphasizes on making our free-throws so to be able to contribute tonight and shoot 90.0 percent from the line was huge for us."
 
UP NEXT
Texas State concludes its three-game homestand at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11 at Strahan Arena.
 
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