ARLINGTON, Texas – Another instant classic between Texas State and UT Arlington took place Friday night at the College Park Center when the Bobcats defeated the Mavericks 87-85 in triple overtime on ESPN 2. With the win, Texas State put to rest a five-game losing streak vs. UTA, and a nine-game skid when playing as the visiting team.

Senior forward Eric Terry finished with a career-high 30 points (12-of-17) and was one rebound shy of a double-double. Senior guard Nijal Pearson did log a double-double with 24 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. He also added four assists in 53 minutes of action. It was Pearson's second double-double this year and seventh in his career. Junior guard Marlin Davis also turned in his first career double-double with 14 points and 10 assists. He nearly had a triple-double with eight rebounds and had a game-high two steals. Friday was the first time a pair of Bobcats recorded a double-double in a game since Joel Wright (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Matt Staff (16 points, 10 rebounds) did it on Nov. 30, 2012 vs. Utah.

"This game had so many ups and down and I am just so glad that we got it done," said head coach Danny Kaspar. "We had chances to put this game away earlier and we let it get away from us weather it was by missed free-throws, silly fouls, getting tied up late with the jump ball, etc. We let them back in the game but thank God we got the win and I am sure the fans really enjoyed this one. Also, I am so proud of Eric [Terry] he has had two great back-to-back games. He has one more in the regular season at South Alabama that we have to get through, but he is ending his senior year very well."

 The Bobcats (20-10, 13-6 Sun Belt) had a 59-53 lead with 3:42 left in the game and was up 59-55 with under a minute left to play. Senior guard Brian Warren hit a pair of free-throws for the Mavericks (13-17, 9-10 Sun Belt) with 57 seconds left and after Pearson's shot was blocked, the Mavericks zoomed down the floor and sophomore guard David Azore made a fast break layup to tie the game at 59 with 26 seconds remaining. Both teams used a timeout before the next possession took place and the Mavs endured the first scare when Terry's jumper did not fall, sending the teams to the first overtime.

The first OT began with UTA's senior forward Radshad Davis' fast break layup after a Bobcat turnover, giving the home team a 61-59 lead. Terry knotted the game with a hook shot, and the Bobcats regained the lead with a jumper from Pearson that forced a 30-second timeout by UTA with 2:20 left in the period. Out of the break senior forward Tiandre Jackson-Young who made nothing but 3-pointers in the game, connected on his third triple to put his team up by one, 64-63. With a minute and a half on the clock, Pearson missed a 3-point attempt and fouled Azore who graced the Bobcats by splitting the free-throws, keeping it a one possession game at 65-63. On the next possession, Pearson was fouled, missed the free-throw, and UTA retrieved the ball with just over a minute left. However, the Bobcats played tough defense and forced a shot clock violation, and Terry tied the game again at 65 with another hook shot off of Davis' eighth assists. UTA called a timeout with 24 tics left and Warren missed the last shot to force a second overtime. 
  
The second overtime period saw more scoring as each team scored 11 points. The Bobcats built five-point margins on two separate occasions, including a 75-70 lead with 26 seconds left. Pearson who was at the line, converted only 1-of-2 free-throws and after the UTA rebound, senior forward Jabari Narcis nailed a triple to cut the lead to 75-73 with 19 seconds left. Pearson drew another foul but split those as well, this time making the second freebee with 15 seconds left and a 76-73 lead. With time running out, the Bobcats made an ill-advised foul and freshman guard Nicolas Elame took advantage by making both free-throws for a 76-75 game with three seconds left. With the contest seemingly wrapped up, the Bobcats inbounded the ball, but UTA defenders quickly went for it and the refs immediately gave the jump ball signal with the possession arrow pointed in UTA's direction. The Bobcats fouled and put Elame back on the line where he tied the game at 76. TXST called a timeout in what was its last attempt to "freeze the shooter" and it paid off as Elame missed what could have been the game-winning free-throw and timed expired, sending both teams to a third overtime.
 
Pearson began the third OT with a triple that sparked a 5-1 run, putting the Bobcats ahead 81-77 with 3:34 remaining. The Mavericks answered with a 7-1 run, however, and took an 83-82 lead along with all the momentum with 1:48 left in the frame. After empty possessions for both teams, Pearson put together a series where he got the defensive rebound, missed a jumper but corralled his own rebound (No. 15) and laid it in for a Bobcat 85-84 lead with 42 seconds left. After a timeout, Elame struck again with a jumper to take back the lead, but sophomore guard Mason Harrell freed Terry up under the goal with a beautiful wrap-around feed that put the Bobcats ahead 86-85 while being fouled with 12 seconds left. Terry converted the three-point play and Elame put up one final shot that missed the mark for the Bobcats to walk away victorious 87-85.

Azore led UTA with his double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds and Narcis tallied a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Narcis was 4-of-9 from 3-point range. Freshman guard Sam Griffin finished with 13 points in the game and Warren had 10.
    
GAME NOTES
• Texas State has back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in 43 years (1977-79) They have also had 20 or more wins in three of the last four seasons. The last time this was done dates back to 1957-1961, including the NAIA National Championship team (1959-60) who finished the year 29-4.
• This is the first triple overtime victory in Texas State history. The Bobcats had one other 3OT game that was at TCU on Nov. 24, 2009 (L, 108-99).
• The last overtime game the Bobcats played was at home against UTA on Feb. 2, 2019. TXST loss 84-77 in what is currently the program's highest attended game at Strahan Arena (6,581).
• TXST improves to 6-0 this season (4-0 in the Sun Belt) when scoring 80 or more points. 
• The Bobcats will end Feb. with a 7-1 record. 
• The game totaled 14 ties and 14 lead changes, including four ties and eight lead changes in the overtime periods alone. The game also had a total of four players with double-doubles. 
• Texas State logs its longest winning streak this season at five games.
• Terry registered a career-high 12 made field goals.
• Pearson had a 20-10 game earlier this season at UNLV (Nov. 20, 2019) where he finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds. 
• It is the 10th time this season where Davis has recorded five or more assists (16th in his career) and the second time this season he has logged 10 or more assists.
• Sophomore forward Alonzo Sule had nine points and eight rebounds, including a game-high five offensive rebounds. 
• Harrell only had one assists in the game which was essentially on the game-winning basket. 
 
UP NEXT
Texas State will conclude the regular season with a 7 p.m. tip on Tuesday, March 3 vs. South Alabama at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala.
 
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