SAN MARCOS, Texas – The four-game road swing for the Texas State men's basketball team (9-7, 2-2 Sun Belt) concludes on Saturday when it plays at Southern Miss (7-9, 2-2 Sun Belt). Start time for the contest is slated for 2 p.m. from the Reed Green Coliseum.
Fans can catch the action on ESPN+ and on the Varsity Sports Network with Clint Sheilds on the call. Live stats will also be available to follow.
About Texas State
The Bobcats snapped a three-game losing streak on Thursday with a come from behind 74-73 victory at Troy. Leading the way was Tylan Pope with a career-high 27 points including the game-winning free throw with 1.1 seconds on the clock. He also grabbed 10 rebounds, eight of them on the offensive glass, to record his third double-double of the season. Coming off the bench and making his season debut, Mark Drone netted 17 points and dished out three assists.
Leading the team offensively is Tyrel Morgan at 14.4 points per game while shooting 51.0% from the field. His 6.8 rebounds per game are tied for the most on the team with Joshua O'Garro while his 23 steals are second on the squad. Right behind Mogan in scoring is Pope after increasing his average to 14.3 points a contest.
Kaden Gumbs enters netting 11.8 ppg while dishing out 4.4 assists a game. His 25 steals are also the most on the team. The sophomore has made 86.3% of his free throws, which ranks second in the Sun Belt behind O'Garro's 90.9%.
Four Texas State players have made double-digit three-pointers this season led by Drue Drinnon with 23 at a 51.1% clip. Coleton Benson has knocked down 16 in eight contests and Dylan Dawson has connected on 13 long-distance attempts. Morgan is the fourth Bobcat with double-digit treys with 11.
About Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles are coming off an 84-67 victory Thursday night at home over ULM. The win snapped a two-game skid. At home this season, USM is 7-1 with the lone home loss coming on Dec. 17 against Lamar by a score of 69-65. Along with Thursday's game, the Eagles have also beaten Marshall at home in Sun Belt action.
Averaging a double-double is Denijay Harris with 16.5 ppg and 10.7 rpg while shooting 50.9% from the field and is 12-of-31 (38.7%) on three-pointers. He also paces the team with 27 blocks. Andrew Curbelo comes in netting 12.0 ppg and Neftali Alvarez adds 11.4 ppg and paces the squad with 50 assists and 23 steals.
Cobie Montgomery is the team's top long-distance threat having made 46.5% of his three-point attempts with 33 makes. DeAntoni Gordon comes in with 20 rejections on the year.
Series History
Southern Miss leads the all-time series 3-2 with all five meetings taking place over the past two seasons. Last year saw Texas State win two of the three matchups including a 75-59 win in the second round of the Sun Belt Tournament. The Bobcats' first-ever win in the series was a 60-55 victory on Feb. 3, 2024 in San Marcos.
When facing the Eagles in Hattiesburg, TXST is winless in two games. The Bobcats fell 67-58 in the first-ever meeting on Jan. 28, 2023 and dropped a 78-74 game on Feb. 17, 2024.
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