SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team (15-11) played its last game in the MAC/SBC Challenge on Saturday afternoon in Strahan Arena and came away with a 77-61 victory over Western Michigan (8-15).
 
Mark Drone scored a game-high 20 points with 14 coming in the second half. He finished 9-of-14 from the field and was one of three Bobcats to dish out three assists along with Kyndall Davis and Tay Knox. Chipping in with 16 points was DJ Hall. The freshman made 5-of-10 shots including both three-point attempts.
 
Also with a double-digit scoring game was Kaden Gumbs with 15. Half of his six made field goals came from beyond the arc. Both Jalen Bolden and Franck Emmou added seven points apiece off the bench.
 
The big man trio of Robert Fields, Makai Willis and Knox grabbed a team-high six rebounds apiece.
 
Netting the first four points of the game was the Broncos but Hall responded with a three-pointer. He then stole the ball and took it the other way for a layup to put TXST in front. It would be a short-held lead as WMU scored eight of the next 10 points to take its largest lead of the game.
 
The visitors stayed in front until a 9-0 run over a 2:57 minute span by Texas State. The Broncos tied the game with two baskets in a 30-second span but the Bobcats ended the first half on 16-5 run to lead 36-25 after the first 20 minutes. During that late run, Gumbs scored seven of the team's points with five more coming from Hall.
 
WMU stayed within striking distance for most of the second half. Five straight points saw the visitors cut TXST's advantage to 61-57 with 5:08 left on the clock.
 
Texas State responded by scoring 16 of the final 20 points of the contest that saw the Bobcats make their last six shot attempts. Sealing the victory was Davis and Gumbs hitting back-to-back three-pointers.
 
Next up for TXST is a big game against Sun Belt Conference leading Troy on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside Strahan Arena.
 
Stay up to date on everything Texas State men's basketball by following the team on Facebook,  Twitter, and Instagram.