SAN MARCOS, Texas– Senior guard
Shelby Adams turned in a season-high 15 points as Texas State held off Incarnate Word in the second half for a 72-64 victory on Saturday afternoon at Strahan Arena.
After a tightly contested first half that had the Bobcats (2-2) trailing the Cardinals (1-3) 34-32, the home team picked up its defensive intensity and clamped down on a hot offensive unit by outscoring UIW 40-30 in the second half.
Incarnate Word was 7-of-13 from 3-point range in the first half, but the Bobcats held the Cardinals to 2-of-11 shooting behind the arc in the second half. Overall, Texas State shot 48.3 percent from the floor (28-of-58), 40.0 percent from 3-point range (6-of-15). The Bobcats registered a season-high seven blocks and tied a season-best with six made three-pointers.
"I am proud of our guys for gutting this thing out and getting the win over a scrappy Incarnate Word team," said interim head coach
Terrence Johnson. "It was a good win over a quality opponent. That team is well-coached. We have scrimmaged them for the last three years, and it always looks as close and intense just like that. They [Incarnate Word] will win some games this year."
Adams was 6-of-10 from the floor, including two made 3-pointers, and pulled down five rebounds, all of which are season-highs as well. He added an assist and a steal to his overall performance. Graduate guard
Marlin Davis also had a season-high with 12 points (4-of-10) and seven assists to lead all players. Davis also had three rebounds and two steals. Junior guard
Mason Harrell finished with 10 points, five assists, and had two rebounds and a block. Junior forward
Nighael Ceaser turned in his first double-digit performance with the maroon and gold with 10 points to round out the top scorers. Ceaser also had four rebounds and one steal. Senior forward
Isiah Small had eight points and a season-high 10 rebounds, marking his sixth career game with Texas State recording 10 or more rebounds. Small also had matched a career-high with four blocks in a single game.
Sophomore guard Keaston Willis led the Cardinals with 16 points and had six rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Sophomore forward Marcus Larsson recorded a double-double with 14 points (6-of-7) and 10 rebounds, and led the team with two blocks and added two assists. Senior guard Des Balentine concluded the game with 11 points and had one assist and one steal.
FIRST HALF
Both teams traded baskets throughout the half, but a 9-0 run gave the Cardinals a 16-11 advantage. UIW led 18-13 before TXST responded with four unanswered points to cut the deficit to one point. UIW connected on another triple to bring its lead to 21-17 with under eight minutes remaining in the period. The Bobcats came back with a 7-0 burst and took a 26-24 lead. The Cardinals answered with seven unanswered points of their own and ended the half with an overall 10-6 run to take a 34-32 advantage into intermission. Harrell led the team with six points, and the Bobcats shot 53.6 percent (15-of-28) from the floor, but the Cardinals shot 53.8 percent from 3-point range (7-of-13) and was led by Willis' nine points behind his three made triples.
SECOND HALF
The back-and-forth game continued in the second half as both teams were tied at 39 with 14:42 on the clock. After Texas State used a 7-2 run to grab a 46-41 lead, Incarnate Word answered with a 6-0 run to retake a 47-46 advantage. Out of the under 12-minute media timeout, Adams nailed his first triple of the game to put the Bobcats ahead, 49-47. After Texas State extended its lead to 58-53 with 6:54 left to play, the Cardinals had one final push and trimmed the deficit to one point. However, the Bobcats would not relinquish the lead and walked away with the eight-point victory.
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