SAN MARCOS, Texas – The home opener for the Texas State men's basketball team takes place on Thursday against Mid-America Christian with tip set for 6 p.m. inside Strahan Arena. Prior to the game, banners for the 2021-22 Sun Belt Conference regular season championship and first-ever appearance in the NIT will be unveiled.
 
Entering the contest, the Bobcats are 0-1 on the year after dropping the season opener at Washington State while the Evangels are 2-0.
 
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Brant Freeman on the call. Fans can also catch the action on the Varsity Sports Network and KTSW 89.9 FM with Clint Shields supplying the play-by-play.
 
About Texas State
TXST dropped its first season opener since 2017 on Monday. Mason Harrell led the team with 17 points while both Tyrel Morgan and Davion Sykes added 10 points apiece. Sykes is the first Bobcat freshman with double-digit points in his debut since 2019 and the first against a Division I opponent since Nijal Pearson in 2016.
 
Dylan Dawson paced Texas State with four assists that matched his career high. Five rebounds apiece were grabbed by Brandon Davis and Nate Martin.
 
About Mid-America Christian
A member of the Sooner Athletic Conference, MACU is coming off a 96-71 exhibition loss at Omaha. Thursday's game will also be considered an exhibition for the Evangels, who were picked to finish third in the league's preseason poll.
 
DaRaun Clark comes in averaging 27.0 ppg while shooting 45.2% from the field and has converted 23-of-25 (92.0%) free throw attempts. Only other player with a double-digit average is Seth Hurd at 12.0 ppg. The roster features two D1 transfers in Jonathan Alexandre (Oral Roberts) and Revonte Doolittle (Arkansas-Pine Bluff).
 
All-Time Series
Thursday will be the first-ever meeting between Texas State and Mid-America Christian.
 
Only One
Harrell is the only player in Texas State history to have recorded 1,000 points and 300 assists. The fifth-year senior has scored 1,066 points and dished out 308 assists. He currently ranks 19th in program history for points and needs 19 more to surpass Jeff Foster for 18th-place.
 
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