SAN MARCOS, Texas – Isiah Small and
Caleb Asberry combined for 41 points to lead the Texas State men's basketball team to a 101-54 victory over Southwestern University on Sunday afternoon in Strahan Arena. The victory improves Texas State's record to 7-2 this season.
Small scored a season-high of 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Bobcats. Asberry added 20 points, and
Nighael Ceaser came off the bench to score a career-best of 13 points.
"I think this was one of the best games that we have ever had from the standpoint of goals and standards we try to live up to," said Texas State head coach
T. J. Johnson. "We have three goals that we try to accomplish, and today was the first time that we have been able to accomplish all three goals in the same game. Granted, we have only lost one time when we have accomplished two of the three goals, but today our guys were really locked in, committed, and focused. It isn't about how many points we scored. It was us trying to meet our standards and accomplish our goals."
Texas State had just eight turnovers in the game. The Bobcats held Southwestern to just 37.3 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded the Pirates 38-29.
"We set the tone early defensively and didn't allow them to make any three-point field goals in the first half," Johnson said. "We did a really good job getting out there and took that away."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bobcats came out blazing in the first half when they shot 64.9 percent (24-37) from the field, 54.5 percent (6-11) beyond the three-point line, and 100 percent (5-5) at the free-throw line.
Small and Asberry combined to score the first nine points in the game, and Texas State made nine of its first 11 field-goal attempts to open a 22-6 lead. The Bobcats never looked back and went on to lead 59-22 at halftime.
Small finished the first half with 16 points after making 6-of-7 field-goal attempts and all three free throws. Asberry added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Ceaser scored nine points and pulled down four rebounds.
The second half started with Asberry nailing a three-pointer from the top of the key and
Nate Martin scoring a layup off an assist by
Mason Harrell. Small added a pair of free throws to widen Texas State's lead to 66-22. Harrell finished the game equaling his career-high of seven assists.
Texas State scored 100 points for the first time under Johnson when
Darien Jenkins nailed a three-point shot from the top of the key, giving the Bobcats a 100-54 lead.
Nate Lacewell added a free throw with 43 seconds left to make the final score 101-54.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Texas State's 26 assists are the most by a Bobcat team since they recorded 30 assists against McMurry on December 6, 2017.
The 101 points were the most points scored by Texas State since the Bobcats scored 121 points versus Bethany on December 15, 2019.
Defensively, Texas State outscored Southwestern 18-0 behind the three-point line in the first half and 30-12 in the game.
The Bobcats had a season-low eight turnovers for the second time in three games against Southwestern. Texas State also had just eight turnovers at Rice.
Small's 21 points give him six 20-point games in his career.
Asberry's 20 points give him four 20-point performances this season, and he has nine 20-point games in his career.
Harrell dished out seven assists for the third time during his career. He had seven assists at Coastal Carolina on February 6, 2020, and at UT Arlington on February 11, 2021.
NEXT GAME
Texas State will play its third straight home game on Wednesday, December 15, when the Bobcats host Lamar in a non-conference game in Strahan Arena beginning at 7 p.m.
