SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State (14-9, 7-5 Sun Belt) heads east to challenge Coastal Carolina (12-11, 5-7 Sun Belt) at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday, Feb. 6 at the HTC Center and will conclude the weekend at Appalachian State (12-11, 6-6 Sun Belt) at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Holmes Center.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
ESPN + vs. Coastal Carolina: PXP: Jeff McCarragher, Analyst: Nate Ross
ESPN + vs. Appalachian State: PXP: Kendall Lewis, Analyst: John Reisterer
Live Stats vs. Coastal Carolina: Statbroadcast
Live Stats_­ vs. Appalachian State: Statbroadcast
Listen: AM 1300 The Zone, TuneIn App – Bill Culhane
 
SETTING THE SCENE
• The Bobcats enter the weekend on a three-game winning streak in road games and have won six of their last seven games. With the 71-66 win vs. Louisiana, the Bobcats are now in third place of the Sun Belt Conference.   
• Texas State continues to stand out defensively by leading the Sun Belt Conference with a 63.3 scoring defense and ranks No. 2 in the league in field goal percentage defense (.398). The Bobcats are 9-0 this season when holding it opponents under 60 points and have a league-best 3.8 turnover margin (No. 19 in the NCAA) and force 15.2 turnovers per game (No. 3 in the Sun Belt).
• Offensively, Texas State rank in the top five of the Sun Belt Conference in scoring margin (8.4, No. 1), free-throw percentage (76.2%, No. 2), field goal percentage (44.5%, No. 4), scoring offense (72.0 ppg., No. 4), and 3-point field goal percentage (33.9%, No. 5). 
• Senior guard Nijal Pearson is the league-leader in the Sun Belt with 19.4 points per game behind a 42.3 field goal percentage (No. 6 in the Sun Belt), a 38.0 3-point field goal percentage (No. 5 in the Sun Belt), and a 79.0 free-throw percentage (No. 8 in the Sun Belt). He averages 33.9 minutes per game and his 447 total points this season ranks No. 23 in Division I as of Feb. 4. 
• Sophomore guard Mason Harrell follows with 9.6 points per game, shooting 48.6 percent from the floor, 41.3 from 3-point range, and ranks No. 2 in the Sun Belt with an 86.8 percentage from the charity stripe. Harrell leads the conference with a 2.54 assist-to-turnover ratio and leads the team with 3.1 assists per game. 
• Junior guard Marlin Davis follows Harrell with a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio and leads the team with 1.2 steals per game.
• Junior forward Isiah Small is tied at No. 6 in the Sun Belt with 6.8 rebounds per game, including 4.4 defensive rebounds per game (No. 10 in the Sun Belt) and 2.4 offensive boards per game (No. 6). Small averages 8.2 points overall this season, and 9.6 points per game in conference play.
 
PEARSON RECORD TRACKER / NOTABLES 
• Pearson is the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,968 career points. His point total currently ranks No. 19 among active players across all NCAA divisions and rank No. 10 in Division I. He also ranks No. 11 in the Sun Belt Conference all-time in scoring.
• Pearson is one of 20 active NCAA Division I players with 1,500 career points and 600 career rebounds (46 total players across all divisions). He currently ranks third on that list with 1,968 points and 687 rebounds.
• Pearson is the first Bobcat to be in the top 10 of the school's record book in points, rebounds, assists, and steals.
• The Beaumont, Texas native has 164 career steals that rank No. 3 in the school's record book. He now trails Wes Davis (2011-15) who is No. 2 with 189 steals, and David Sykes (1999-03) who is the program's leader with 192 career steals.
• Pearson is No. 10 on the all-time rebounding list with 687 career rebounds. Former Bobcat Don Forester (1957-59) ranks No. 9 with 696 career rebounds.
• Pearson is tied at No. 8 in the program's record book with 266 career assists with Billy Bahnsen (1981-85). Former Bobcat Ojai Black (2014-17) ranks No. 7 with 287 career assists.
• Pearson was listed on the 2020 Dos Equis 3x3U National Championship Midseason Watch List and is the front-runner to win the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year award according to espn.com.
• Pearson was tabbed to the 2019-20 Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team by the league office after garnering All-Sun Belt First Team honors in the 2018-19 season.
 
SCOUTING COASTAL CAROLINA
• Coastal Carolina picked up an 83-77 win at Arkansas State to end its four-game losing streak. The Chants are 7-8 at home this season and have dropped the last three games played on their home court.
• The Chants rank No. 2 in the Sun Belt in scoring offense, averaging 78.2 points per game, however, they give up the most points in the league with a 74.8 scoring defense.
• Coastal Carolina is one of the best rebounding teams in the country, as they rank No. 9 with 938 total rebounds. CCU averages 40.78 rebounds per game (No. 14 in the NCAA), including 13.74 offensive rebounds (No. 8 in the NCAA) and 27.04 defensive rebounds per game. 
• Sophomore guard DeVante Jones leads the team with 16.2 points per game with a 47.6 field goal percentage and 85.1 free-throw percentage, both measures ranking No. 3 in the Sun Belt. Jones also leads the conference with 5.5 rebounds per game and his 1.5 steals per game rank No. 8 in the league. He also averages 5.3 rebounds per game that ranks No. 17 in the league.
• Junior guard Keishawn Brewton averages 14.5 points per game (No. 10 in the Sun Belt) and leads the league with 3.0 3-pointers made per game behind a .371 clip (No. 7 in the Sun Belt). He also has 27 total steals and 2.3 rebounds per game this season.
• Tyrell Gumbs-Frater leads the conference with a 42.0 3-point field goal percentage and contributes 11.3 points per game. 
• Senior forward Tommy Burton also contributes 11.3 points per game and leads the team with 7.2 rebounds per game which ranks No. 3 in the Sun Belt. Burton has totaled five double-doubles this season and he is tied with TXST's Terry with 0.9 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING APPALACHIAN STATE
• Although the Mountaineers are 6-3 at home this season, they are just 2-3 in Sun Belt games and are coming off a 73-53 loss vs. Little Rock in their last game at the Holmes Center (Jan. 18). 
• Appalachian State only averages 69.5 points per game, but they hold its opponents to 67.6 points per game which is tied for the third-best scoring defense in the Sun Belt. They are, however, a second half team as they outscore their opponent 827-781 in the final 20 minutes this year.  
• Junior guard Justin Forrest ranks No. 2 in the league with 19.1 points per game but leads the league in conference only matchups with 21.6 points per game. Overall, Forrest shoots 40.4 percent from the floor (No. 9 in the Sun Belt), and connects on 2.3 triples per game (T-No. 6 in the Sun Belt). He is also one of three Mountaineers to be in the top 10 of the league in steals per game (1.6, No. 7). He also has a team-high 60 total assists. 
• Senior forward Isaac Johnson turns in 11.0 points per game and leads the team with 7.2 rebounds per game (No. 4 in the Sun Belt). Johnson, who also has 1.6 steals per game, shoots 47.8 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from 3-point range, and has a total of 47 assists this year.
• Senior guard O'Showen Williams rounds out the top scorers for App with 10.7 points per game. He also has 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• Texas State leads Coastal Carolina in the all-time series 7-2 and are on a four-game winning streak head-to-head. The Bobcats defeated the Chants 78-66 earlier this season behind 29 points from Pearson. M. Davis, Small and sophomore guard Caleb Asberry each had 14 points.
• The Bobcats are 3-0 all-time when playing at Coastal.
• The Bobcats also lead the Mountaineers 7-5 in the all-time series and are on a three-game winning streak which matches the longest winning streak in the series. 
• Texas State downed App earlier this season 82-57 in San Marcos. Pearson led the Bobcats with 22 points and sophomore forward Alonzo Sule dropped a season-high 18 points to go along with six rebounds. Harrell added 15 points in the win and Small, who also had six rebounds finished with 11 points.
• Texas State is 2-3 all-time when playing in Boone, N.C.  
 
UP NEXT
Texas State will return home for its final home stretch of the regular season. Next weekend, the Bobcats face Little Rock at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13 and end the weekend against Arkansas State at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Strahan Arena. 
 
Stay updated on everything Texas State men's basketball by following the team on Facebook,  Twitter, and Instagram.