SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team (9-7, 2-2 Sun Belt) is back on the road this weekend in Sun Belt Conference play. First up is a trip to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to face Southern Miss (9-7, 3-1 Sun Belt) on Thursday at 7 p.m. from Reed Green Coliseum.
Fans can catch the action on ESPN+ and on the Varsity Sports Network with Clint Shields on the call. Live stats will also be available.
About Texas State
Last Saturday saw the Bobcats win their first game away from Strahan Arena with an 84-79 victory over ULM. Mark Drone recorded his second straight 20-point game as he finished with a season-high 24 points. Contributing 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds was DJ Hall.
Drone leads the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game and is making 48.8% of his shots. The senior also paces the squad with 16 made three-pointers and is second on the team with 41 assists. The only other Texas State player with a double-digit scoring average is Hall at 13.2 ppg. He leads the squad with 7.3 rebounds per game, is second with 22 steals and third with 39 assists.
Kaden Gumbs enters the game handing out a team-high 4.0 assists per game and 33 steals while scoring 7.8 ppg. Also contributing at least seven points a contest is Franck Emmou (7.1) and Makai Willis (7.0).
About Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles won both games last weekend on the road at Louisiana and ULM. They are 4-1 at home this season with a conference win over the Ragin' Cajuns and non-conference victories against Grambling, Tougaloo and William Carey. The lone home loss was on Dec. 20 to Arkansas State.
Tylik Weeks leads the team with 17.4 ppg and is shooting 49.5% from the field and 82.3% at the free throw line. He is one of three players grabbing at least six rebounds a game along with Djahi Binet (6.5) and Isaac Taveras (6.7), who is netting 15.8 ppg. Binet contributes 9.4 ppg on a team-high 63.9% shooting.
Curt Lewis is the top three-point threat having made 28 of his 34 field goals from beyond the arc. Chiante Tramble and Izzy Hart have made 14 and 13 three-pointers, respectively.
Series History
Southern Miss holds a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series. Last season saw the home team win both regular season meetings in overtime.
Texas State is 0-3 all-time when playing in Hattiesburg with all three setbacks being by single digits. Drone scored a career-high 30 points in last year's contest that saw the Bobcats fall 92-88.
Stay up to date on everything Texas State men's basketball by following the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
