SAN MARCOS, Texas – Sophomore forward Alonzo Sule could not be stopped as he turned in his second double-double this season with a career-high 26 points and added 10 rebounds as Texas State snapped Little Rock's seven-game winning streak with a 74-66 decision on Thursday night at Strahan Arena. The Bobcats improve to 5-3 in the all-time series vs. Little Rock when playing in San Marcos.
 

Put that in the dunk contest, they say, Sule! @TXStateMBB coming in at No. 8 on tonight's #SCTop10. #SunBeltMBB pic.twitter.com/5PcSZ7l6lx

— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) February 14, 2020

"I loved the effort from our players tonight," said head coach Danny Kaspar. "We did struggle with the trap and made some mistakes that let them back in the game so we have to take better care of the basketball. But otherwise, there was a lot of energy from our players part, they were intense and ready to play and it showed on the offensive glass which I am very proud of."

The Bobcats (16-10, 9-6 Sun Belt) exerted much of their dominance in the first half where they led by as many as 22 points and went into the locker room with a 41-22 lead. The Trojans (18-8, 12-3 Sun Belt) picked it up in the second half and shot 66.7 percent from the floor but the home team never surrendered its lead and extended its home winning streak to three. The Bobcats outrebounded the Trojans 38-28, marking a season-high in Sun Belt conference games, and pulled down 17 offensive rebounds which is a new season-high overall. Texas State is 11-1 this season (5-1 in the Sun Belt) when outrebounding its opponent.

Sule registered his fourth double-dip in his career highlighted by a one-handed put back dunk to infuse energy to the team early in the first half. He also added two assists and one steal.
 
Senior guard Nijal Pearson finished with 15 points and a season-high six assists to go along with six rebounds and two steals. His 12th point of the game gave him 2,000 in his career.

 

With his last triple, @NijalUno has eclipsed 2,000 career points! #EatEmUp?? pic.twitter.com/zQEgvJ0nLs

— Texas State MBB (@TXStateMBB) February 14, 2020

 
Sophomore guard Caleb Asberry recorded 10 points and three rebounds in the win.
  
Sophomore forward Kamani Johnson, who fouled out, led the Trojans with 14 points and had four rebounds and three assists. Junior forward Ruot Monyyong stuffed the stats sheet with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and freshman guard Jovan Stulic had 11 points and a career-high five steals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
It was all Texas State in the first half. The Bobcats scored the first nine points of the game and held the Trojans to a 0-of-3 performance with three turnovers by the first media timeout. The home team would grow their lead to 23-6 which included another 8-0 and a four-point play by Asberry. Sule went off from that point on and electrified the crowd with a one-handed put back dunk. He had 12 points to lead all players with 6:49 on the clock, marking the home team's largest lead of the half, 31-9. Little Rock went on a 7-0 run to pull within 15 points (31-16) but the run ended with a hook shot from Sule and ultimately went into the half with a 41-22 margin. Texas State shot 47.2 percent from the floor while Little Rock was a mere 6-of-20 from the floor and 0-of-2 from long distance. Sule had a season-high 16 points in a single half and pulled down five rebounds. Pearson and Asberry followed with eight points.
 
Second Half
The Bobcats still held a 62-50 lead despite being outscored by the Trojans 28-21 with 7:03 in the clock but saw the lead get trimmed to single digits behind an 8-0 run (62-54) and looked to have the home team on the ropes after a jumper cut the lead to seven, 68-61 with 3:20 left to play. Texas State responded with a 6-0 run, however, with four coming from junior guard Shelby Adams to seal the game in the final two minutes. The Bobcats were able to pull out the victory despite being outscored 44-33 in the final 20 minutes.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• Sule had a +15-efficiency rate and has grabbed 10 or more rebounds for the second time this year and sixth time in his career.
• Pearson now has 2,003 career points ranking and 696 career rebounds. His total rebounds put him in a tie at No. 9 in the program's record book with Don Forester (1957-59)
• Shelby Adams ended the game with eight points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal, while junior forward Isiah Small had six points, eight rebounds, and one block.
• Junior guard Marlin Davis handed out a game-high eight rebounds and is coming off a career-high 11 assists at Appalachian State. Davis set a new career-high with two blocks and also had two points and one steal.
 
UP NEXT
Texas State looks ahead to a 2 p.m. game vs. Arkansas State on Saturday at Strahan Arena.
 
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