SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State led from the first possession and shot 53 percent from the field, 46 percent from three-point range, and 93 percent from the free throw line to put away ULM 73-55 at home in Strahan Arena on Tuesday.
 
The Bobcats (13-17, 6-11 Sun Belt) won their penultimate home game of the 2023-24 season due to an offensive effort that saw them have 18 assists on 26 made field goals to pair with the efficient shooting night. The 18 helpers were the most by Texas State against a Division I team this season. Forwards Christian Turner and Chris Nix led the Bobcats with five and four assists, respectively.
 
"It's that time of year where it's that home stretch and we need everything we got today out of our guys," said Terrence Johnson, Texas State head coach. "Which was the focus, the energy, the effort, and the connectivity that we feel we've been building towards. What I take away from this is, man, our team took a step in the right direction today. My question is, how will we be tomorrow? But at the same time, I'm not ready to look at tomorrow and I'm really proud of my team on how they responded today, to come off the road and get their minds right on a short turnaround."
 
The hot-shooting -- 50, 40 and 90 percent from the field, three-point and free throw line – was a first for Texas State this year. The 53 percent from the field (26-of-49) was its best since shooting 66.7 percent against LeTourneau earlier this season on Dec. 18.
 
"Because we shared the ball, we shot the ball at 53 percent from the field, 46 percent from the three, and 93 percent from the free throw line," added Johnson. "That had not been done all season."
 
The seven three-pointers made, meanwhile, were Texas State's most in a game since Feb. 1 vs. South Alabama (8).
 
Jordan Mason led all Texas State scorers with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting. The sophomore also had five rebounds.
 
Davion Sykes had his second double-double in as many games with 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. It was his fifth double-double overall this year.
 
Mason and Sykes each played 30 minutes to lead a rotation of 10 Bobcats that all logged at least eight minutes of action.
 
Joshua O'Garro helped Texas State's bench outscore ULM's, 33-18, by scoring 11 points – his first double-digit scoring effort since early December.
 
The Bobcats started the game by opening a 10-point lead in the first seven-and-a-half minutes and led by as much as 17 with six minutes to go in the first half. ULM, though, cut the deficit to as low as 10 points in the waning minutes of the opening period, but a four-point play at the 1:39 mark by Coleton Benson, who had nine points off the bench, staved off the Warhawks' rally. Sykes closed out Texas State's scoring in the first half with the Bobcats' final four points as Texas State led 41-25 at the break.
 
After shooting 57 percent in the first half, Texas State was 14-of-28 shooting in the second half. The Bobcats led by as much as 22 points in the second half when Benson drained a three-pointer to make it 66-44 with 4:55 left in the game. Texas State never let its advantage dwindle to less than double-digits in the second half.
 
ULM (11-17, 6-11 Sun Belt), which had only three assists on its 17 field goals made, shot 30 percent (17-of-56) from the field for the game.
 
The Bobcats will wrap up their regular season on Friday against Troy, which is third in the conference standings with a 12-4 Sun Belt record. Texas State is aiming to move up in the conference standings with a win and secure a top-10 seed for the Sun Belt Conference tournament and start play on Thursday, March 7, as opposed to the first day of Tuesday, March 5.