SAN MARCOS, Texas – Both Dontae Horne and Davion Sykes had career nights in the regular season finale to help Texas State defeat Troy 82-79 in overtime on Friday from Strahan Arena.
 
Sykes recorded his sixth double-double of the season, all since the beginning of February, with career bests of 30 points and 12 rebounds. The sophomore was 10-of-15 from both the field and at the free throw line. He also dished out three assists and recorded one steal. It was the first 30-point game by a Bobcat since Eric Terry also totaled 30 points in a triple overtime win at UT Arlington on Feb. 28, 2020.
 
Horne came off the bench to net 17 points on a 6-for-11 shooting night and knocked down 5-of-6 at the charity stripe. He dished out a career-high seven assists while grabbing four boards and posting a steal.
 
With the win, TXST finishes the regular season 14-17 and 7-11 in the Sun Belt Conference while the Trojans fall to 20-11 overall and 13-5 in league action.
 
It was the Bobcats' first overtime game since the first round NIT game at North Texas on Mar. 15, 2022. Last time Texas played extra time in Strahan Arena was on Feb. 6, 2021 in a 77-67 win over Little Rock.
 
Jordan Mason knocked down a three-pointer for the first basket of the game. Following back-to-back buckets by Sykes, TXST held a 7-2 lead.
 
Troy scored 20 of the next 27 points to take an eight-point advantage. The visitors would eventually stretch their lead to 39-25 with 1:46 left in the first half. A 3-point play by Sykes and a layup from Brandon Love with seven seconds remaining cut the Bobcats' halftime deficit to nine.
 
Six straight points for Texas State in the first 1:36 of the second half cut Trojan lead to just three. However, they would go on an 8-1 run to hold a double-digit advantage.
 
Texas State kept the game close and slowly chipped away. Jordan Mason gave the team its first lead of the second half when he hit a three-pointer at the 3:26 mark. It would be short-lived as an old-fashion three-point play again put the Trojans in front.
 
Dawson knocked down a trey with 1:10 remaining to make it a one-point deficit. The Bobcats would get some hop as Myles Rigsby went just 1-for-2 at the free throw line to make it a 71-69 Troy lead. A great feed from Horne to Sykes led to a layup to tie the game. A three-point attempt at the buzzer was off target by Aamer Muhammad as the game went to overtime.
 
Troy got on the board first in the five-minute period with a dunk from Rigsby. Sykes would answer on the other end with a layup and following a steal by Horne, the junior would eventually make a layup of his own to give the Bobcats a 75-73 lead.
 
Twice the Trojans got to within a point but both times the Bobcats answered. Sykes sealed the game as he made a free throw with 10 seconds left and tough defense forced a tough three-point attempt to try to tie the game at the buzzer.
 
Next up is the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Pensacola, Florida where Texas State will take on the 14th seed Old Dominion on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
 
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