Texas State Athletics

OXFORD, Ohio – Never trailing throughout the game, Texas State went on the road and claimed a 75-65 victory over Miami (OH) Saturday morning from inside Millett Hall as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge. The win was the first in program history against a MAC opponent on the road.
 
"I'm proud of my guys. It's a very well coached team and the guys were up, energetic, and ready to compete," said head coach Terrence Johnson. "We always talk about how much it's about the response and I think that our guys responded today."
 
Leading the way for the Bobcats was Tyrel Morgan with 19 points, 17 coming in the first half, on 8-of-11 shooting that saw him knockdown all three of his three-point attempts. The fifth-year forward also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and recorded one steal and block.
 
Adding 14 points was Kaden Gumbs, who dished out three assists and recorded two steals. Brandon Love netted 13 points and rejected two shots for the second straight game. Also reaching double-figures was Christian Turner with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting while also grabbing five boards.
 
TXST outrebounded the RedHawks 44-26 and held a 20-6 advantage on the offensive glass. Overall, the Bobcats limited the hosts to 20-for-48 (41.7%) shooting and 5-of-18 (27.8%) from beyond the arc.
 
"The first play on offense is getting stops on defense. I thought there were possessions where we were sound. What we can't do is guard for 26 to 27 seconds and give up an offensive rebound or an and-one," said Johnson. "If we can chip away at some of those things then we can continue to get one day better.
 
Love got the scoring going with a hook shot in the paint but Miami would tie the game nearly a minute later. The hosts would later tie the contest at 8-8 after Jaquel Morris converted an old-fashion three-point play.
 
Chris Nix made a layup for the first of 10 consecutive points for the Bobcats that included back-to-back treys from Morgan. The RedHawks countered with a 12-2 run to tie the contest at 20-20 with 6:01 left in the opening half.
 
Texas State closed out the half with a three-pointer from Elijah Tate and another triple right before the buzzer from Morgan that he banked in to send the Bobcats into the half leading 40-31.
 
The lead eventually swelled to 12 when Gumbs knocked down a three with 15:11 remaining in the game. The closest that Miami would get the rest of the game was five twice with the last being at the 7:16 mark.
 
Next up for the Bobcats is a trip to the Sooner State to take on Oklahoma on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tip.
 
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