SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State won its fifth consecutive home game by defeating Georgia Southern 70-55 thanks to another dominant first half Thursday night at Strahan Arena. They are now 13-3 at home this season.

With the win the Bobcats (18-10, 11-6 Sun Belt) are now 3-2 all-time when playing the Eagles (16-12, 10-7) in San Marcos despite trailing the all-time series overall 8-4. In addition to that, the Bobcats are now tied for second place in the Sun Belt standings with Georgia State who fell at UT Arlington 70-62 on Thursday night.
 
"Our defense is really carrying us right now," said head coach Danny Kaspar. "However, 42 points in a half is good too so I will not complain about our offense. We got stale in the second half, but it was a good win against a good team in Georgia Southern. I think we are playing harder and a lot smarter right now."

Another solid first half lifted the Bobcats over their opponent as they led by many as 25 points in the stanza and was able to stay afloat in the second half to coast to their fifth double-digit win in conference play. The Bobcats shot 52.7 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from deep, while the Eagles finished with a .396 clip and was 2-of-14 from 3-point range.
 
Senior guard Nijal Pearson led the team in scoring for the 20th time this season with a fitting 20 points. He was 7-of-13 from the floor and nailed three 3-pointers in the game to go along with five rebounds, three assists and a block.
 
Junior guard Marlin Davis made his second consecutive start this season and dropped a career-high 16 points behind 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, including a trio of triples himself (another career-high). Davis also had a game-high five assists and finished with two rebounds and one steal.
 
Georgia Southern's Isaiah Crawley led the team with 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in addition to his three assists. Ike Smith finished with 11 points and four rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The Bobcats scored the first six points of the game and ballooned their lead to 13-2 behind another 7-0 run.  During that stretch, the Eagles were 1-of-7 from the floor and had committed five total turnovers. Texas State did not let off the gas pedal, however, and used a 12-1 run on 5-of-5 shooting to take a 31-10 lead capped by a triple from Pearson. Ga. Southern fought back with seven straight points, but Davis ended it with his third triple of the half that sparked an 11-0 run to give the Bobcats their largest lead at 42-17. GS's Crawley got fouled on a last-second 3-point attempt and made all three freebies for a 42-20 halftime score. TXST shot 54.5 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Eagles in the half 23-11, including a 6-2 margin on the offensive glass. Six of nine Bobcats who played in the half scored, led by Davis' 11 points and four assists. Pearson followed with 10 points, three rebounds and a block.   
 
Second Half
Georgia Southern opened the half by scoring the first four points and was on a 7-2 run before the Bobcats responded with their own 9-2 burst highlighted by five unanswered points. Both teams traded buckets for a while and whenever the Eagles looked to begin to gain momentum, the Bobcats would strike right back to keep their edge. GS pulled as close as 14 points with a 7-0 run at 68-54 but a final bucket from sophomore forward Alonzo Sule ended the comeback with 43 seconds left to play. 
 
GAME NOTES
• Texas State is now 10-0 (4-0 in the Sun Belt) when holding its opponent below 60 points this season.
• For the third consecutive game, the Bobcats outrebounded their opponent (39-27) and improve to 13-1 (7-1 in the Sun Belt) when doing so this season.  
• In the first half, the Bobcats outscored the Eagles in the paint 22-10 and in second-chance points 12-1. In the first game between these two, Texas State had just three offensive rebounds and zero second-chance points.
• Pearson has scored 20 or more points in 14 games this season and 31 times in his career.
• Davis has recorded five or more assists in eight games this season and has done so in four of the last five games.
• Junior guard Shelby Adams had a season-high eight rebounds (led all players) and four assists in the win. He also tallied six points, two steals, and had a +18-efficiency rating (another game-high).
• Junior forward Isiah Small logged eight points, seven rebounds, two blocks, one assist and one steal. It was his seventh multi-block game of the season and second time doing so in consecutive games this season (at UNLV, vs. Abilene Christian).
• Senior forward Eric Terry also turned in his seventh multi-block game this season, matching Small's two blocks. It was his first multiple block game since Dec. 21 at Georgia State. Terry also had seven points.
 
UP NEXT
The Bobcats wrap-up their regular-season home schedule with a 4 p.m. game on Saturday vs. Georgia State at Strahan Arena.
 
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