KINGSTON, R.I. – Fifth-year senior guard
Mason Harrell scored a game-high 26 points with 17 coming in the second half to help lead Texas State to a 70-66 win over Rhode Island at the Ryan Center Saturday afternoon. It was the Bobcats' first-ever win over an Atlantic 10 Conference opponent on the road.
TXST pick up its second straight win to improve to 2-1 while the Rams drop to 0-2.
"I couldn't be more proud of this group. I thought they did things that we asked them to do and then they fought. That's a physical team and well coached team we played," said head coach
Terrence Johnson. "Coming back after a short rest, my guys dug deep. We had a short rotation tonight, but everybody contributed for a complete team win."
"I thought [coach]
Donte Mathis did an amazing job on the scout. He had us prepared even with the short prep and rest. I can't speak enough about
Mason Harrell and his leadership, toughness and grit. These guys followed his lead. He believed the whole time and they fought they whole time. We're ecstatic about the victory!"
Harrell finished the game 9-of-18 from the field with one made three-pointer and knocked down 7-of-10 free throws while grabbing five rebounds.
Brandon Davis netted 15 points, 13 in the first half, as he made 7-of-9 field goal attempts. He also recorded four steals, grabbed three rebounds and dishing out two assists.
Also reaching double-figures was
Tyrel Morgan as he scored all 12 of his points in the second half.
Drue Drinnon dished out a team-high four assists and both he and Davison Sykes finished with two steals.
Brandon Love and
Nate Martin both blocked two shots. It is the third straight game for Love to record two rejections.
Texas State held URI to 18-of-44 shooting (40.9%) and only one made trey. What kept the Rams in the game was their free throw shooting. They went 29-for-35 from the line with a 14-of-15 performance form Ishmael Leggett.
Twice the game was tied early in the opening stanza but the Bobcats would never trailed in the first half. Seven straight points for TXST was capped off by a banked shoot off the glass from
Davion Sykes that put Texas State ahead 15-6 at the 12:22 mark.
Free throws kept URI in the game as it converted 14-of-16 in the first 20 minutes with half being made and attempted by Leggett.
The largest lead for Texas State came with 43 seconds left as Drinnon stole the ball and converted a layup on the other with 43 ticks left in the first half.
At first the Bobcats were able to stretch their advantage to 11 at 39-28 following two free throws courtesy of Morgan. The Rams chipped away to eventually take their first and only lead of the game, 61-59, on a Malik Martin fastbreak layup at the 3:30 mark.
N. Martin would get a layup to drop through contact to tie the game. He then helped deflect at pass and sent the outlet pass to Harrell, who finished with a layup to allow TXST to retake the lead. After URI tied the game on its next possession, Harrell made another layup to put the Bobcats in front for good.
The senior guard from Midwest City, Oklahoma would go on to hit a jumper and convert two free throws to make it 69-66 in favor of Texas State with 18 seconds left to go. The Rams missed two free throws and Morgan grabbed the board. He was fouled and sunk his first three throw to seal the victory.
Next up for the Bobcats is a trip to take on I-35 rival UTSA on Thursday for a 7 p.m. tip.
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