SAN MARCOS, Texas – In Sunday's 102-52 exhibition win, the Texas State men's basketball team put together an all-around performance as all 14 players scored against Huston-Tillotson.
"When we play with high energy, I think we are doing well. I thought we tried to share the ball for the most part, especially when Mark and Kaden are in the game when we are playing two point guards," said head coach Terrence Johnson. "It kind of reminds me of when we played Marlin Davis and Mason Harrell together. We shared the ball and there were times both of those guys combined for 16 assists a game."
Four Bobcats reached double-digits points led by Franck Emmou with 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting and going 6-for-7 at the free throw line. Both Dimp Pernell and Makai Willis netted 12 points and Mark Drone contributed 10 points with eight coming in the second half.
Kaden Gumbs scored nine points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out a team-high four assists. Coming off the bench, Jalen Bolden tallied nine points and retrieved five boards.
The duo of Kyndall Davis and Tay Knox both finished with a team-high six rebounds. Davis also had eight points and recorded three steals.
As a team, TXST was 33-of-59 (55.9%) from the field with an 8-for-18 (44.4%) performance from beyond the arc. The Bobcats were also 28-of-42 (66.7%) at the charity stripe. They outrebounded the Rams 45-30 and forced 20 turnovers with a steal being the cause 11 times.
"In the game, I want to see them reap the fruits of their labor. These guys have been putting in some work," said Johnson. "I'm always excited and it feel good inside when they do the things that we've been working on, when they execute, get deflections and stops.
Texas State never trailed in the game as it scored the first nine points of the game. At halftime, the Bobcats led 50-20 having never let the visitors score more than two points in-a-row.
Emmou gave TXST its largest lead of the game at 53 points (102-49) with 69 seconds left on the clock following a layup.
Next up for the Bobcats is the regular season opener on Monday, Nov. 3 at Bowling Green. The game is slated for a 6 p.m. CT tipoff and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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