LAIE, Hawaii – All nine guys that played Friday night for the Texas State men's basketball team scored at least four points as the Bobcats claimed a 78-65 victory over Southern Utah in the Cannon Activities Center. The victory advanced TXST to the title game that will be played Saturday.
 
With the win, the Bobcats improved to 4-2 on the season while the Thunderbirds drop to 3-3.
 
"I thought it was a hard-fought game and Southern Utah is a well-coached team. They can give many teams problems, but I'm proud of my team. They stepped up, locked into our defensive principles, and showed the amount of toughness and grit that it takes to be a two-time championship team in the Sun Belt," said head coach Terrence Johnson.
 
"Being led by Mason Harrell once again, everybody chipped in tonight. Tuongthach Gatkek was important for us, Brandon Love came alive, and you got to acknowledge the fact that Drew Drinnon and Davion Coleman came in and gave us some great minutes. Overall, it was a complete team victory and that's what we're looking for moving forward."
 
Mason Harrell scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half that saw him go 6-for-10 from the field and convert all six free throw attempts. Brandon Davis knocked down three shots from beyond the arc on his way to netting 12 points. Both Brandon Love and Davion Sykes finished with 10 points apiece with Love's being a new career high.
 
Tyrel Morgan grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. The senior also totaled eight points and three assists. Tuongthach Gatkek finished with a season-high three blocks while Sykes added four steals and two rejections.
 
A three-pointer from the left wing courtesy of Dylan Dawson opened the scoring on the very first possession of the game. However, SUU scored 14 of next 19 points to go up by six and it would be their largest of the contest.
 
The teams would trade a couple of baskets over the next four minutes until Davion Coleman hit a mid-range shot. That bucket kicked started a 20-4 run for the Bobcats over the next 8:50. The Thunderbirds closed out the half with two free throws with a second remaining to send it into the break with TXST up 34-26.
 
An 18-point lead for the Bobcats came after Davis knocked down his second triple of the half and Gatkek converted an old-fashion three-point play with 14:36 on the clock. Texas State was held to just two points, that being a Love layup, for nearly five minutes that saw the advantage be cut to 11.
 
Coming out of a timeout, Dawson hit a trey from the left corner. Gatkek followed by blocking a shot from behind and then dished a pass to Sykes for an easy layup to increase the lead to 16.
 
The Thunderbirds got to within 10 at the 2:26 mark but that would be as close as TXST allowed them to get. Harrell converted a layup through traffic and the Bobcats would knock down all eight free throw attempts with half coming from Sykes to seal the win.
 
Next up is Hawaii on Saturday in the title game that is scheduled to tipoff at 11 p.m. CT.
 
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