Third Time is Not the Charm as Bobcats Lose in Triple Overtime

The Men’s basketball team probably played their best game of the season against the TCU Horned Frogs, but came up just short losing 108-99 in 3 overtimes. The game was the second in a two-game Consolation Bracket in the NIT Tournament this week that tipped-off at 8 P.M. and nearly ran until 11 at night in Fort Worth. Neither team gave up as clutch threes and free throws were knocked down late in the game. The clutch free throws reference was really meant for the Horned Frogs, as they continually knocked them down in the second and third overtime to get them the win, but we will get to that in a minute.

Before it came to that, the Bobcats held a 9-point lead with under 2 minutes left in the second half but could not hang on. Coming out of a timeout, TCU hit back-to-back three point shots to bring them within 3 with just a minute remaining. Sophomore guard John Bowman, who played well and finished with 19 points and 5 assists, started off trading free throws with the horned frogs squad but he missed a couple down the stretch, which allowed the opposition to tie the game and take it into overtime.

Fast-Forward…

Pending a 6-0 run by the Frogs at the end of overtime #1, senior guard John Rybak stepped it up in a huge way by knocking down his sixth and seventh three-point shots of the night. This took the ’cats into overtime #2 with all of the momentum. Rybak put the team on his back offensively in the waning moments of this overtime as his seventh three pointer came with just 4 seconds left on the clock.

In the 2nd OT, Texas State had to play on without senior center Emmanuel Bidias A' Moute as he fouled out. With 1:14 remaining the ‘Cats forced a big turnover and took control of the basketball with the game knotted at 93, and guess who stepped up once again? John Rybak drilled another three-pointer giving him 28 points on the night, and more importantly, pushing his team out front to a three-point lead. However, with :15 remaining, TCU hit another clutch three and took the game to a third and final overtime.

In this final period junior transfer J.B. Conley, who finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, scored the Bobcats’ first four points and Texas State looked good. TCU was nursing a two-point lead with under two minutes remaining when Texas State had a few shots rattle in-and-out and they could not put the ball in the hoop. The Horned Frogs made all but one of their free throws that iced the game and sent the Bobcats to the locker room with a bitter taste in their mouths.

Fatigue seemed to set in at the end of the third overtime period for the ‘cats and for good reason. Coach Davalos was forced to shorten up his bench as junior center Jonathan Sloan and forward Tony Bishop were unable to play due to injury. Sloan has been out for a few games now and this was Bishop’s first game out as he suffered an ankle sprain in the Bobcats’ previous game against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Texas State falls to 1-5 on the season as they missed a total of 10 free throws on the night, which might have been the deciding factor. Some good news was that the Bobcats’ turnover numbers were way down in this match up against TCU (16 total), which has been a problem for the team all season.

John Rybak finished with 30 points and Cameron Johnson finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Texas State will be back in action on December 1 in San Marcos against Texas A&M - International. You can listen to the game on 89.9 FM KTSW-San Marcos or online at ktsw.net.

-Robert Fisher, KTSW Sports Staff Writer

Women's Basketball Stymies Southwest Assemblies of God

In the final game of an opening three game home stretch, the Lady Bobcats improve their record to 2-1 in a victory over the Southwestern Assemblies of God Lady Lions with a final score of 65-51.

This marks Texas State’s second win over a Red River Conference opponent, the first being a 100-42 win over Texas College. Although State received a win, it was only a seven point ball game in the first half with the score favoring the Bobcats 29-22. The Bobcats were struggling early on against the Lion’s 2-3 zone defense where shots were being contested down low and turnovers off of deflections were a common occurrence.

Coach Suzanne Fox wasn’t concerned about the zone as much as she was concerned about the effort of the team. Considering Texas State had seven players over six feet tall compared to SAGU’s two, the Lady Lions were winning the unofficial stat of hustle plays.

It wasn’t until sophomore guard Kelsey Krupa exposed the holes in the zone in the beginning of the second half where she put the ball on the floor to create shots for teammates and took advantage of weak rotation as she went 4-6 from the arch to account for all 12 of her points.

By giving respect for Krupa on the perimeter, the zone was stretched thus leaving the middle open for junior forward Chika Ofoegbu where she hit five of her seven shots and ended the game with 13 points. Her performance tonight now brings Ofoegbu shooting 18-22 from the field for the season bringing her to an impressive 81%.

Even though Texas State didn’t have the prettiest win of the season, the Bobcats can be proud of a winning record and continue to improve on their mistakes the rest of the season.

The Bobcats will travel to Fort Collins, Colorado this Friday as they take on Colorado State in the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational. Although the game will not be on the air, you can listen to live coverage of the Texas Tech game in Lubbock on December 2nd on 89.9 KTSW, ktsw.net and txstatebobcats.com.

-Sam Kruppa, KTSW Sports Staff Writer

Wisconsin-Milwaukee Brews Up a Big Victory Over the Bobcats

The Wisconsin Milwaukee-Wisconsin Panthers got the best of the Texas State men’s basketball team tonight, beating them 96-77.

From beginning to end, the Bobcats never led the game. The Panthers started the game on fire, leading Texas State 16-0, and led by as many as 31 points. While Texas State was down by 26 at the half, they cut the deficit in half to thirteen points in the second half, shooting 46 percent. But the rally was not enough to catch the Panthers.

The Bobcats started the game off poorly. They shot 36 percent in the first half and had nine turnovers in less than ten minutes. Whether it was a drive, jumper or 3-pointer, they couldn’t find the basket. Not that it’s an excuse, but the Bobcats are a young team with only a handful of veteran players. They are still trying to find their identity, chemistry and execution. Fortunately, they do have a lot of potential and room to grow. Just remember, this was only one game.

-Tim Leeland, KTSW Sports Staff Writer

Sam Houston State Fires Football Head Coach Todd Whitten

After a stint of mediocrity for the latter half of this decade, Sam Houston State has decided that it has had enough. According to an official release from the SHSU Athletic Department, Todd Whitten will no longer be head coach of the Bearkat football team. This marks the second coaching change in the Southland after Jay Thomas was fired from Nicholls University this past Thursday.

Coach Whitten coached for five seasons at Sam Houston and amassed an overall record of 25-28. The once-proud Bearkats have not been to the playoffs once under Whitten's tenure, and Texas State amassed a 4-1 record against their rivals during that period of time. SHSU's best season under Whitten came in 2007, when the Bearkats finished 7-5, 5-2 SLC and beat the Bobcats in San Marcos. However, the 'Kats still missed out on the playoffs that year.

There may be additional fallout from this coaching change that may affect other Southland schools as well. According to an article from neworleans.com, former Northwestern State coach and current SHSU defensive coordinator Scott Stoker may be among a list of candidates for the Nicholls head coaching job.

A list of preliminary candidates for the position is unknown as of this point, but SHSU Athletic Director Bobby Williams was quoted as saying that "it is imperative that the search for the individual to move our football program toward that new outlook begin immediately." KTSW will have more news on the coaching searches of Nicholls and Sam Houston State whenever we get any information concerning them.

Sam Houston State finished 5-6 overall and 3-4 in the Southland Conference this year, and Texas State defeated them in their season finale in San Marcos by a score of 28-20.

-Will Butler, KTSW Sports Director/Blog Editor

Texas State Volleyball: 2009 Southland Conference Tournament Champions

The Texas State Bobcats defeated the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in four sets to claim the Southland Conference Tournament Title. Texas State was led by junior Mo Middleton, who had 18 kills in the championship game. Middleton also recieved the award for being the tournaments Most Valuable Player. Jessica Weynand and AJ Watlington also were in double digits with 12 kills apiece. Senior setter Brittany Collins had a great day as well, as she setup her teammates numerous times 40 on assists. Weynand and Melinda Cave also were named to the SLC All-Tournament team.

In the first set, the Bobcats came out strong early as they scored 6 before the Lumberjacks even registered a point. However, the Lumberjacks battled back into it as they were led by sophomore M.C. Battles, who had 4 kills while senior Palomona Buckner led in assists. For the Bobcats, Melinda Cave recorded 4 kills and Brittany Collins recorded 8 assists. Texas State held off the Ladyjack run and won the set (25-20). The lead changed twice in that set.

In the second set the Ladyjacks came on strong early, and put the Bobcats into a pretty deep hole by scoring six unanswered points. The Bobcats continued to fight, and rallied back to beat the Lumberjacks by the score of (25-20). The teams both played well around the ball and the experienced seniors for both sides really stepped up.

The Bobcats coming into the 3rd looked to sweep the Lumberjacks and take home the SLC Title, but were stopped when the Lumberjacks put up a fight and won. As a result, this forced a 4th set to be played. Senior Ashley Bailey recorded ten kills and delivered the final blow to take that set (25-23). MC Collins was the team leader in kills with 18 throughout the set.

In the fourth and final set the Bobcats and Ladyjacks were locked in a tough battle in the beginning, but the Bobcats took control and never looked back. AJ Watlington scored the clinching point to give the Bobcats the Championship.

This is the Bobcats fourth title in five years and the sixth title for Texas State. The Bobcats last tournament title was in 2007 against SFA.

-TJ Ladusky, KTSW Sports Staff Writer

Bobcats Turn Back Bearkats for the Second Straight Year

Diehard Bobcat fans, are you still a bit disappointed about the fact that Texas State will not be participating in the NCAA FCS Playoffs this year? You have plenty of reason to be. An extremely winnable game against Southeastern Louisiana turned into a shocking nightmare over the course of 10 minutes that unequivocably cost Texas State their shot at the playoffs and at least a share of the SLC Championship. The Bobcats' inability to figure out the historically dormant Southern Utah program has been a headscratcher, to make the understatement of the year. That loss blew a hole through any chance Texas State had of receiving an at-large playoff berth. The McNeese game was certainly winnable as well, although that loss may not have stung as much because both teams seemed to be more evenly matched than the SUU and SLU losses...and it also wasn't nearly as disorienting. Add on the fact that the door was wide open for Texas State to win the SLC Championship if they could have beat McNeese--SFA was able to upset SLU in Hammond and the Lions inexplicably dropped a 45-30 loss to a sad-sack Nicholls team a week later--and you might be still feeling slightly sick to your stomach if you're a Bobcat fan.

However, with all that being said, Bobcat fans have to admit that it feels great whenever Texas State can ruin the spirits of their rivals in Huntsville. Despite occasionally poor play, a poor attendance of 9,118 fans, questionable refereeing and a brawl instigated by bitter Bearkat players, the 'Cats were able to do just that on Saturday with a 28-20 win over Sam Houston State.

Texas State came out a big sluggish to start the game, as DeMarcus Griggs fumbled away the ball inside of the Bearkat red zone within the first minute of play. QB Blake Joseph and the Bearkat offense then sliced through a reeling Bobcat defense in their first offensive posssession. Momentum was squarely in SHSU's corner, as the Bobcats looked uninspired save for an impressive 48-yard touchdown run by Alvin Canady. The Texas State defense looked to have had the Bearkats stopped on the next possession, but a questionable roughing the kicker call kept the SHSU drive alive that eventually led to another touchdown. Compounding the crowd's frustration with the officiating was an obvious offensive pass interference call that should have been docked against SHSU's Jason Madkins, but was inexplicably called on Texas State's Darryl Morris instead. The usually stoic Bill Culhane called it "maybe the worst call we've seen all year." Thankfully for Texas State, the end result of the drive was a missed field goal for the Bearkats. Still, the frustration for Bobcat fans and players remained as SHSU led at halftime, 17-14.

Whatever Coach Wright told his team at halftime must have worked like a charm.

In the second half, the Texas State defense stepped it up in a big way, holding SHSU to three total points. The defense, displaying their M.O. of bending but not breaking, stepped up in the red zone once again and stuffed the Bearkats on a 4th and 3 at the Bobcat 8 late in the fourth quarter. It was also fitting that DeMarcus Griggs was the recipient of the two winning touchdown passes from Bradley George, both of them going for 13 yards and electrifying the relatively sparse Bobcat Stadium crowd. It was after that last touchdown that things started to get a little chippy. The Texas State defense stepped up their game, and the Bearkats may have lost their cool as a result.

Some Bobcat fans and KTSW staff members had been telling me that SHSU's Jason Madkins had been talking trash non-stop to Texas State players throughout the game (and for good reason as he finished with over 100 yards receiving on the day). However, the trash-talking turned into an all-out slugfest in the fourth quarter. After the Bobcats stuffed SHSU on the aforementioned 4th and 3 stop at the Texas State 8 yard line, some pushing and shoving occurred and then both teams started throwing punches and saw their benches clear. While it may not be known who the exact instigator was, the referees clearly thought that the majority of the blame fell on Sam Houston State's shoulders as QB Blake Joseph and DE Chris Brown were BOTH called for personal fouls. Instead of starting at the 10, Texas State would start at their own 40 as a result. Chris Brown was eventually ejected, possibly for an incident in which he threw his helmet while on the sideline. Brown was eventually seen being escorted off of the field by UPD officers. On Texas State's end, KTSW Sideline Reporter Luke McBroom overheard Bobcat head coach Brad Wright telling his redshirt players to get off the field or risk losing playing time next year. Both coaching staffs were thankfully able to keep the situation from escalating out of control, and as of this point no major injuries were reported to have been suffered during the brawl.

After the dust cleared, the now-raucous Bobcat Stadium crowd saw Texas State stall on their offensive drive, punt the ball away to SHSU and pin them back deep in their own territory due to a penalty called on the return against the Bearkats. SHSU's Blake Joseph, who had an admirable effort on the day with 24 completions out of 36 attempts for 240 yards and one touchdown, set up his offense with 85 yards and 1:34 left to try and score eight points. He was able to get off a nice 11-yard pass to Madkins, but saw disaster strike on the next play. Senior defensive lineman Garrett Hood, who has had some outstanding games as a Bobcat but had previously never recovered a fumble, finally got his hands on the pigskin after Travis Houston jarred the ball loose from Blake on a sack. It was a triumphant way for Hood and Houston to end their careers at Texas State and it was an emphatic exclamation point to cap off the Bobcats' first consecutive winning seasons since the 1980's.

Fourteen seniors took the field on Saturday, including some big names such as Bradley George, Travis Houston, Will Thompson, Garrett Hood, Alex Luna, Alvin Canady, Calvin Gore, and Joe Bell, among others. George, despite showing spurts of inaccuracy during periods of two interceptions and a couple of balls thrown up for grabs, had an outstanding day to close out his senior career with 322 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. DeMarcus Griggs had an outstanding day with 11 catches for an eye-popping 178 yards and two touchdowns. Griggs was one catch shy of tying Texas State's all-time reception record in a single game, and he passed Cameron Luke's single-season reception record with 80 total. Not bad for a sophomore.

Texas State finishes the season 7-4 overall and 5-2 in the SLC, while Sam Houston State drops to 5-6, 3-4 SLC. The Bobcats have won their last two against the Bearkats and have taken the last 5 out of 7 against their rivals. While missing out on another SLC Championship and another playoff berth may not be what Bobcat fans want, there are still plenty of bright spots to pick out from this season. The dominant win over SFA, garnering the first win over Central Arkansas, winning for the first time in Thibodaux since 1999, and the rivalry win over Sam Houston State were all high points for this year's team. Also, having winning seasons for consecutive years may not sound like much, but with this program it's a welcome change. There are also a number of players coming back next season that should excite Bobcat fans and coaches--DeMarcus Griggs, Darren Dillard, Mishak Rivas, Tim Hawkins, Joplo Bartu, Adley Eshragipour, DJ Hall, Brian Iwuji, Ron Jackson, Frank Reddic, and hopefully Karrington Bush are just a few names of players that may be standouts next year for Texas State.

The two most compelling stories this offseason will likely be Coach Wright's contract talks and who Texas State will play in non-conference next year. Texas State is locked in to play TCU again next year and has been rumored--for better or for worse--to be playing Southern Utah again, although that is not official. KTSW will have coverage of both stories whenever we find out more information, so stay tuned to the KTSW Sports Blog for more updates around Bobcat Football and all Texas State athletics.

-Will Butler, KTSW Sports Director/Blog Editor

Bobcats Sweep Southeastern in First Match of SLC Volleyball Tournament

The Bobcats defeated the Southeastern University Lady Lions on Friday in the first match of the 2009 SLC Tournament in San Antonio, Texas. Texas State swept all three sets with the scores of (25-16), (25-15), (25-20).

In the first set the Bobcats came out strong by going up early and never looking back. They were led by Sr. Jessica Weynand and Jr. Amber Calhoun both girls with three kills a piece. On defense, the Cats on the court all contributed on defense Ally Buitron led the Cats in digs with three. The Lion points came from the trio of Lauren Mayer, Courtney Donald, and Taylor Buckner with a total of ten kills between them.

In the second set the Lions came out strong early. Both teams traded points all the way up until the 12th point when the Bobcats caught fire and kept the lead until the end. Lauren Mayer again led the Lions in scoring with six kills. For the Bobcats Jessica Weynand had seven kills in the set.

In the third set, the Lions put up a fight again as they kept it close all the way until the end. However, their efforts came up just short as the Bobcats won 25-20 with Mo Middleton scoring the game winning point. Scoring for the Cats came from Jessica Weynand who had 11 kills and Melinda Cave who produce 7 kills. On the other side of net Courtney Donald and Lauren Mayer had 7 kills each.

The Bobcats will play either the Mavericks of UTA or the Cardinals of Lamar on Saturday at 1 P.M.

-TJ Ladusky, KTSW Sports Staff Writer