SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team (14-6, 5-3 Sun Belt) survived a comeback attempt by Appalachian State (14-10, 8-3 Sun Belt) to pick up a 68-66 win over the Sun Belt Conference leaders Thursday evening at Strahan Arena that also snapped App State's six-game winning streak.
 
After the Mountaineers jumped out to a 7-3 lead, the Bobcats made 11 of their next 14 shot attempts and knocked down all four free throw attempts to go up by 17 with 5:20 left in the half. The visitors were able to cut the advantage to 10 but Shelby Adams knocked down two free throws with 4.7 left on the clock to send TXST into halftime leading 41-29.
 
The Bobcats maintained a near double-digit lead for a majority of the second half until the 7:57 mark. That is when APP went on a 10-0 run to tie the contest at 60. Dylan Dawson ended the scoreless streak with a jumper but the Mountaineers answered with two made free throws.
 
Mason Harrell knocked down a fastbreak jumper to again put Texas State ahead 64-62. Following a made charity stripe attempt by APP's Donovan Gregory, Harrell converted a layup and Nighael Ceaser also made a layup on the team's next possession to increase the advantage to five with 3:36 to play.
 
Gregory made a layup with 1:52 showing on the clock to make it a 68-66 advantage for TXST. Neither team was able to make any of their shot attempts for the rest of the game. The Mountaineers' Justin Forrest was fouled on a three-point attempt with 8.3 showing on the clock with an opportunity to give them the lead. The preseason first team all-conference selection, however, would miss all three of his free throw attempts.
 
Adams grabbed the rebound off the final missed charity stripe attempt and was subsequently fouled with 4.7 remaining. He would miss the front end of the 1-and-1 and Forrest grabbed the board. He was able to get to just past midcourt but his last second heave fell short of the rim to conclude the game.
 
Caleb Asberry scored a team-high 16 points, 13 of which came in the first 20 minutes. He also finished with five rebounds and an assist. Also reaching double-figures was Shelby Adams with 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting and was 4-of-6 on free throws. The super senior matched Isiah Small with a team best six rebounds.
 
Harrell nearly recorded a double-double with eight points and a career-high eight assists. Nate Martin added nine points and blocked two shots while Ceaser contributed eight points and three rejections off the bench.
 
Next up for the Bobcats is a 5 p.m. matchup with Coastal Carolina on Saturday in Strahan Arena.
 
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