SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State was up by four points with under 10 minutes remaining, but cold shooting and a late 8-0 run propelled Troy over the Bobcats, 55-52, on Saturday at Strahan Arena.
 
Texas State (7-8, 0-2 Sun Belt) out-rebounded the Trojans (9-6, 1-1 Sun Belt) 38-22 – including 15-4 in offensive boards – but the Bobcats only tallied nine second-chance points to the Trojans' 13.
 
The two sides both made 20 field goals and 11 free throws apiece, but Texas State was 1-of-9 from three-point range while Troy was 4-of-16. The Bobcats finished 11-of-18 at the free throw line, which was their worst free-throw performance since Dec. 1 at Lamar.
 
Texas State carried a lead into the second half and pulled ahead at 44-40 on a Mason Harrell lay-up with 9:21 remaining in the game.
 
However, the 8-0 Troy run that was ignited by a Zay Williams dunk flipped the advantage in favor of the Trojans at 48-44 with just over five minutes remaining. Over the four-minute stretch, the Bobcats were 0-for-4 from the field and turned the ball over three times. They also missed two free throws.
 
The Bobcats did erase the 48-44 lead with a jumper by Nate Martin and a pair of free throws by Tyrel Morgan to tie it at 48-48 with 3:22 remaining. But they went on to miss four of their last five field goal attempts to allow the Trojans to pull back ahead.
 
Troy made two of its three final three shots – while also going 3-of-5 from the free throw line – in the final four minutes.
 
A three-point play by Kieffer Punter with 2:56 remaining put the Trojans ahead for good at 51-48 as Texas State never led in the final eight minutes.
 
Texas State did lead for 14 of the 20 minutes in the first half and was up by as much as four on two occasions. Nighael Ceaser made it 22-18 with a lay-up with 38 seconds remaining in the opening stanza, but a finish by Williams cut the Bobcat lead to 22-20 going into the break.
 
The Bobcats finished 20-of-56 (36 percent) from the field while Troy was 20-of-50 (40 percent).
 
Harrell scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the second half. The senior guard was held to 6-of-18 from the field, including 2-of-7 in the game's first 20 minutes. He also had five rebounds, two steals and an assist.
 
Morgan joined Harrell in double-figures with 10 points. It was the senior's first game with 10+ points since mid-November.
 
Troy had four with double-digit points, led by Kieffer with 16.
 
The Bobcats will now hit the road for the first time in conference play this season as they play at James Madison on January 5 at 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES
Texas State has lost four of its last five games. It has also lost back-to-back conference games for the first time since Jan. 22-27, 2022.
 
Harrell has scored in double-figures in 13 of the 15 games this season.
 
Morgan led the Bobcats with a season high-tying nine rebounds.
 
Freshman Jordan Mason had eight points, one shy of his season-high.