SAN MARCOS, Texas – Despite missing three of the team's top four scorers, Texas State took Southern Miss for the second straight Saturday. Unlike the meeting in Hattiesburg, the game in Strahan Arena saw the Bobcats come out on top 85-82.

With the win, TXST is now 11-8 overall and 4-3 in the Sun Belt Conference while the Golden Eagles dropped to 8-11 on the season and 3-4 in conference play.

Tylan Pope recorded his second straight 20-10 double-double and third in the last four games. On Saturday, the senior scored a career-high 28 points on 8-of-20 shooting and going 11-for-14 at the free throw line while grabbing 12 rebounds. He also matched his career-high with five blocks and added a season best two assists.

In his first start of the season, Coleton Benson scored 23 points with a 7-for-17 shooting day that saw him go 5-for-10 on three-pointers. The junior added three assists, two rebounds and two steals.

Both Dylan Dawson and Austin Green netted 10 points apiece. Joshua O'Garro grabbed 12 rebounds and scored seven points.

Christian Turner returned to action after missing the last seven games due to an injury. He ended the contest with seven points and set career-highs with seven assists and six steals.

Texas State jumped out to a 5-0 lead behind a three-pointer from Pope and Turner knocking down a jumper. USM would then go on a 12-4 run to go up by three.

Dawson made a trey and Green converted back-to-back buckets to quickly put the Bobcats back in front, this time by four. The Golden Eagles scored eight consecutive points in a 2:42 minute span that saw them lead 29-23 with 5:44 left in the first half. They would hold the advantage until Pope knocked down a jumper with 23 seconds remaining in the that half tied the score at 39-39.

The Bobcats came out hot to start the second half with Benson making two three-pointers that sandwiched a Pope layup. The eight-point advantage was the largest of the game for the team.

After a USM timeout, the visitors went on a 21-5 run over the next five-plus minutes to go up 60-52. A Colbie Montgomery trey with 6:37 left on the clock would again put the Golden Eagles up by eight. It would be the last field goal they made in regulation.

The Bobcats slowly chipped away at the deficit until with 9.1 seconds left, Pope was fouled. He missed the first charity stripe attempt but made the second to tie the game at 77-77. Andre Curbelo had an opportunity to retake the lead on a layup but Dawson blocked the attempt that then went off Curbelo.

Neftali Alvarez was fouled five seconds into overtime and made both free throws to put USM in front. Pope would eventually tie the game on a layup by Denijay Harris again put the Eagles in front at 81-79 on a layup of his own.

O'Garro was fouled and made one of his free throws to cut the deficit in half. The next time with possession saw Pope get fouled and he made both of his attempts to give TXST a two-point advantage.

After Alvarez made 1-of-2 attempts at the charity stripe to tie the game, Benson hit a three-pointer with 1:27 left on the clock to give Texas State an 85-82 lead. That would be the last bucket for either team in the game. USM did get three attempts from long-distance off but were unsuccessful on all of them. The last came with 2.1 seconds remaining from the left corner off an in-bound play that clanked off the side of the backboard.

The Bobcats are back on the road next weekend beginning with a game on Thursday at Louisiana. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. from inside the Cajundome.

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