SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team (1-0) never trailed in the 64-44 season opening victory over Eastern Michigan in Strahan Arena on Monday. The Bobcats move to 3-0 all-time in the MAC-SBC Challenge.

The 20-point margin of victory is the second largest all-time in a season opening win over a Division I team behind the 27-point margin in 1998 against Green Bay.

Sophomore Kaden Gumbs led TXST with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting and went 4-for-4 at the free throw line. He also handed out four assists. Tylan Pope netted 12 points that saw him knock down two three-pointers while grabbing seven rebounds and blocking two shots.

Also finishing in double-figures was Tyrel Morgan and Dylan Dawson with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Drue Drinnon made his return to the court for the first time since March 2023 and hit two treys and Joshua O'Garro grabbed a game-high eight rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.

The Bobcats finished with a 43-35 advantage on the boards. Despite the Eagles grabbing 14 offensive boards, TXST led 13-9 in second chance points.

Dawson knocked down a jumper nearly a minute into the contest for the first points of the season. After EMU tied it up just over a minute later, TXST went on a 14-2 run capped off by consecutive buckets from Gumbs.

The Eagles got to within four after Christian Henry scored six straight points. A jumper by Morgan started a 10-2 run to end the opening half to give the Bobcats a 35-22 advantage.

Over the first seven minutes of the second half, Texas State outscored the visitors 17-2 that saw Gumbs and Pope knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to force a timeout. The run put the game away as the Bobcats led by at least 20 for the rest of the game.

Next up for TXST is a home game on Friday against McMurry with a scheduled start time of 7 p.m.

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