SAN MARCOS, TX — It has taken just 11 basketball games inside Strahan Arena during the 2021-22 men's basketball season, but Saturday afternoon's 69-64 win over Coastal Carolina marked the 10th home victory for the Texas State Bobcats this season.
The 10-1 mark inside Strahan Arena through the team's first 11 home games is the best stretch under second-year head coach
T.J. Johnson after the Bobcats posted an 8-3 mark at home last season. Additionally, the 10-1 record is the best first 11-game home record since the 2002-03 team opened the season with an 10-1 mark, too.
The Bobcats' 10th home win had to be fought for, though.
Leading 61-59 with 80 seconds left,
Isiah Small converted an and-one opportunity to push the Bobcat lead back to five. Coastal Carolina's Josh Uduje cut it back to three after connecting on a jump shot with 58 seconds left.
After more than twenty seconds ticked off the game clock, Small, again, put the team on his shoulders as took a
Mason Harrell pass and brought the crowd to its feet with a deep 3-point basket with 33 seconds left. The shot extended the Bobcats' lead to 67-61, before two free throws by Harrell with three seconds made it 69-61.
Coastal Carolina's Ebrima Dibba connected on a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cap the scoring.
FROM HEAD COACH TERRENCE "TJ" JOHNSON
"I thought we played against a very talented team. I have to give kudos to my guys, who came out in the second half and played the kind of basketball which we are capable of playing. I thought we came out slow early on, and, obviously, that's not what you want, but we managed to maintain our pose and figured it out. You have to give credit to the players who came into the game off the bench and really gave us a shot in the arm."
STAT LEADERS
SCORES BY HALVES
- 1st | Texas State 29, Coastal Carolina 29
- 2nd | Texas State 69, Coastal Carolina 64
GAME NOTES
- During halftime, the 1993-94 Texas State men's basketball program was recognized and honored for becoming the first men's basketball team from Texas State University to make the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament after the Bobcats won four Southland Conference Tournament games to win the league's postseason championship.
- For the fifth time this season, Isiah Small scored 10-or-more points against a Sun Belt Conference opponent as the Texas State senior forward scored a game-high 15 points. His 15 points against the Chanticleers were two shy of tying his season high against a conference opponent. Small had 17 points at Arkansas State on Jan. 22, 2022 and 17 against Troy on Dec. 30, 2021.
- Playing double-digit minutes for the first time since Dec. 12, 2021 against Southwestern (TX), freshman Brandon Love was credited with a career-high two blocks to go along with an offensive rebound and a field goal.
UP NEXT
- The Texas State (15-6, 6-3) men's basketball program will look to take its home winning ways on the road next week, when the Bobcats travel to Louisiana to play Louisiana on Thursday, Feb. 10 (7 p.m.) and then ULM on Saturday, Feb. 12 (2 p.m.).
- For the latest information on the team, follow @TXStateMBB on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. General athletic news can also be at @TxStateBobcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
