SAN MARCOS, Texas – Sophomore
Brandon Love had a career night coming off the bench for the Texas State men's basketball team Wednesday night in Strahan Arena. Unfortunately, it was on the losing end of a 76-67 contest to South Alabama.
Love scored a career-high 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting and went 4-for-5 at the free throw line. The Houston native matched his career best of three steals while also rejection three shots.
"It was a disappointing loss. We played against a well-coached team and one of the hottest teams in the Sun Belt. Richie Riley has put his team into position to go deep into the conference tournament," said head coach
Terrence Johnson. "We felt like we had a little bit of momentum coming off the road, but this has been an issue we have had all season coming off the road and keeping our focus and hunger. We played against a team that knew what was at stake and took care of business."
With the setback, the Bobcats are now 13-17 on the season and 6-11 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Jaguars are now 16-14 overall and 9-8 in league play.
The only TXST players in double figures was
Mason Harrell with 11 and
Drue Drinnon netted 10 in his return to the lineup following an injury.
Also finishing with three blocks on the night to match his career-high was
Tyrel Morgan. The senior forward and Drinnon both handed out three assists as well. Leading the team on the boards was
Nighael Ceaser with seven.
The teams traded baskets and Harrell converted the two attempts from the charity stripe to tie the game at 4-4. South Alabama would make back-to-back three-pointers to go ahead for good. Four times the Bobcats got within one in the first half with the last coming at the 7:31 mark when a layup from Ceaser made it 24-23.
Drinnon hit a three-pointer for to make it a 38-36 deficit just over a minute and a half into the second half. The Jaguars were able to shut down the Bobcat offense for the next six minutes as they went on a 15-2 run. An old-fashion three-point play courtesy of Love would cut the visitor's lead to seven with 7:32 remaining, the closest Texas State would get the rest of the game.
Next up for the Bobcats is the regular season finale in Strahan Arena against Southern Miss. Tip is set for 7 p.m. and seniors Ceaser, Drinnon and Harrell will be honored prior to the game.
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