Led by Texas State point guard Corey Jefferson’s 22 points and five assists the Bobcats came back home to Strahan Coliseum to claim an over time victory against the Nicholls Colonels 71-66.
A John Rybak three pointer followed by a free throw by Brent Benson gave the Bobcats a quick 4-0 lead to start out the ball game. The Cats led over the next nine minutes, but the lead never increased. The Colonels took the lead on a three pointer by Anatoly Bose who is one of five Australians on the team.
The lead changed two more times in the first half and Texas State opened up a five point lead at 21-16 with just under three minutes remaining. The Bobcats only score once more during the half and an 8-2 run by Nicholls put them up 24-23 at halftime. It was a low scoring game that bodes toward Nicholls slow tempo style. The Bobcats turned the ball over early and often, but what kept them in the game was their lack of fouling. That hasn’t been said much for the Bobcats this season but at halftime they had only committed seven fouls and had been to the line six more times than the Colonels. The two point guards Jefferson and Ryan White led the Cats at halftime with 6 points a piece. Those may seem like small team leading totals but the two point guards made up over half of the teams scoring so far.
Texas State fans got worried when Nicholls opened up their lead to seven points only two minutes into the half. But Jefferson wasn’t about the let the Cats fall far behind. After a lay up and a three pointer, Jefferson’s five points brought the Bobcats back to life. The teams traded shots for the next few minutes until Jefferson stepped up to the three point line again. He answered with his second three pointer of the game and followed it up with another lay up. Jefferson had scored ten of the Bobcats 13 points in the second half to bring the Bobcats within one at 37-36.
The Cats took the lead on a John Bowman lay up with 11:48 remaining in the game. The lead changed four times over the next five minutes. With 2:05 the Bobcats were down four points 58-54. This was a bad time for a minute and a half scoring drought but the Bobcats defense stepped up where it’s offense let down. With :32 left in the game, who else but Corey Jefferson would step up and nail a three point shot to bring Texas State within one point.
The Bobcats fouled Nicholls’ Justin Payne, a 55% free throw shooter, and Payne made both shots. The Cats brought the ball down the court and senior guard Brent Benson, who had only scored two points the entire night, caught the ball at the top of the key. Smothered in coverage Benson pulled up and drained the game tying three pointer. The score was 60-60 with fourteen and a half seconds left. The Bobcats’ defense forced Nicholls to throw up and air ball and the game was headed into overtime.
Texas State scored the first six points of overtime to take a 66-60 lead with 2:22 left. Milking the clock and four Ryan White free throws closed out the game.
Most all of the stats were dead even in the ball game with the exception of free throws. Texas State went 20-31 from the free throw line while Nicholls went 10-17. Brandon Bush played over 40 minutes tonight and had 16 points, eight rebounds and two steals. White had four steals to go along with his 12 points.
The win brings Texas State to 12-13 overall and 5-7 in conference play. Next up for the Cats is a game in Nacogdoches against Stephen F. Austin who leads the Southland Conference East Division with a conference record of 9-3. You can listen to that game on KTSW 89.9 on Wednesday at 7pm.
Dalton Sweat- KTSW Sports Staff Writer
No comments:
Post a Comment