CONWAY, S.C. – Graduate forward Tyrel Morgan had a career night with 27 points in helping Texas State (3-3) defeat Princeton (4-3) Friday night from the HTC Center in the Myrtle Beach Invitational.
 
Morgan was 9-of-14 from the field and went 8-for-10 at the charity stripe. He also grabbed seven rebounds, five of them on the offensive glass, dished out three assists and recorded three steals.
 
Kaden Gumbs added 17 points with a 6-for-12 shooting night and made all four of his free throw attempts. The sophomore dished out a season-high seven assists, grabbed five boards and set a career-high with four steals.
 
Also reaching double-figures was Tylan Pope with 14 points. He made 6-of-8 shots, grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and blocked two shots.
 
Overall, the Bobcats were 30-for-54 (55.6%) from the field, went 6-for-15 (40.0%) from beyond the arc and converted 17-of-23 (73.9%) free throw attempts. They also outrebounded the Tigers 34-28 and blocked five of their shots.
 
Princeton led for the early part of the first half and were up by as much as 16-5 at the 14:43 mark. Chipping away, the Bobcats eventually took the lead at 25-24 on two free throws from Drue Drinnon with just over eight minutes left in the period.
 
Six straight points by TXST would see it take a four-point advantage. However, the Tigers went on a 12-0 run spanning 2:56 late in the half. Eight of the final 10 points of the period were scored by the Bobcats that saw Gumbs end the half with a pull-up jumper from the right elbow with six seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 43-41 heading into halftime.
 
A three-pointer by Joshua O'Garro from the right corner on the opening possession of the second half put the Bobcats back in front. Princeton came back to knot the score at 47-47 but Texas State responded with a 19-5 run over the next seven minutes to go up 66-53 for its largest lead of the game.
 
With eight minutes left on the clock, it would become the Xavian Lee show as he would score 12 of Princeton's next 20 points. In that span, TXST was limited to just four points and trailed by three at the 2:30 mark.
 
Pope netted five straight points to start a 9-0 scoring run for the Bobcats over the next 2:29 to seal the game and snap the three-game skid.
 
Next up for TXST is a meeting with Ohio on Sunday in the fifth-place game. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
 
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