SAN MARCOS, Texas – Senior NIghael Ceaser recorded his second double-double in three games Saturday afternoon in Strahan Arena as he finished with 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Texas State would be on the wrong end of the decision, falling 69-62 to Sam Houston.
 
"It was a high-level intense game. I'm proud of the way my guys responded from the other night. I thought they played hard and played more together but we ran into a better team tonight," said head coach Terrence Johnson. "I'm going to be completely honest with you. They are a team you can't beat yourselves and obviously with us having 15 turnovers and them scoring 25 points off them, that is us beating ourselves. Their pressure is something we are going to see in conference play."
 
The Bobcats drop to 6-6 on the season while the Bearkats are now 9-2.
 
Nate Martin added 12 points and seven rebounds, six of which came in the final 20 minutes. Mason Harrell put up eight points and Drue Drinnon also contributed eight points, three rebounds and three assists in his first start in a Texas State uniform.
 
As a team, the Bobcats knocked down 25-of-28 free throw attempts. They were limited to 34.8% (16-of-46) from the field and knocked down five three-pointers.
 
Ceaser began the game with a layup and Drinnon converted a three-pointer to give TXST an early 5-0 lead just over a minute into the game. Sam Houston scored 17 of the next 22 points to go up by seven for its largest advantage of the half.
 
The Bobcats chipped away and retook the lead at 26-24 on back-to-back treys from Brandon Davis and Dylan Dawson. After a triple by the Bearkats, Jordan Mason was followed on a three-point attempt and made all three of his attempts to again put Texas State in front.
 
Sam Houston would take a five-point advantage into halftime as it scored 10 of the final 15 points of the period.
 
Ceaser started the second half on a tear as he netted seven straight points to cut the deficit to three. Trailing by seven, Ceaser converted an old-fashion three-point play and Martin made two free throw attempts in an 18-second span to make it 52-50 in favor of the Bearkats.
 
That would be as close as the Bobcats would get as Sam Houston eventually stretched the lead to 11 with four minutes to play. Five straight missed free throws in the final minute of the game gave Texas State hope but were unable to knock down shots and committed key turnovers.
 
Next up for the TXST is the final non-conference game of the season on Wednesday when the University of Science & Arts comes to town for a 2 p.m. tip.
 
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