SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team (9-7, 2-2 Sun Belt) won its first game away from San Marcos on Saturday with an 84-79 victory over ULM in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
"We responded! That's all that I asked of our guys over the last 48 hours… to RESPOND," said head coach Terrence Johnson. "In life you are going to get knocked down, but you can choose to respond or not and I'm proud that we chose to respond today!"
 
"A total team effort. We had the right combination of good guard play, interior defense and relentless rebound. If we can get that night in and night out, I like our chances. I'm proud of these guys. We'll enjoy this one for now and get back to the drawing board on Monday. Good road win for the 'Cats!"
 
Mark Drone finished with a game-high 24 points, a new season best for him and his second straight 20-point performance. The senior guard finished 9-of-14 from the field, was 3-of-6 on three-pointers and made all three of his free throw attempts. He also grabbed six rebounds, handed out two assists and recorded a steal.
 
Another big game was had by DJ Hall, who scored 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The freshman retrieved a team-high seven rebounds while also recording three assists and one steal.
 
Kaden Gumbs ended the afternoon with 12 points, eight of which came in the second half, handed out seven assists, grabbed six boards and set a career-high with five steals.
 
In his return to Monroe, Jalen Bolden made 6-of-10 shots to finished with 16 points, retrieved three rebounds, had three assists and two steals. Makai Willis added six points, three rebounds and two assists.
 
The Bobcats finished the game with 21 assists on 36 made shots. They shot 50.7% from the field and held advantages in points off turnovers (19-8), rebounds (40-25), second chance points (20-2), bench points (25-1) and points in the pain (48-28).
 
A 9-4 lead nearly four minutes into the game was the largest lead of the game for the Warhawks. Texas State would take the lead for good at the 10:30 mark when Bolden made his lone three-pointer of the game from the left wing.
 
Seven consecutive points for Texas State put the team up 44-33 for the largest lead of the game.
 
Over the final two minutes of the first half, ULM would go on a 7-2 run. The hosts would chip away in the opening minutes of the second half and tied the game at 52 on a trey by Krystian Lewis.
 
Robert Fields scored all six of his points in the contest over the next three minutes to help put TXST back ahead for good. The closest that the Warhawks would get the rest of the game was 62-61 at the 9:30 mark after Lewis knocked down a free throw.
 
Bolden would slip in behind the defense for a wide-open layup and Gumbs knocked down two charity stipe attempts to seal the game in the final minute.
 
Next up for the Bobcats is a trip to Southern Miss for a 7 p.m. contest on Thursday night.
 
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