Men's Basketball Cannot Overcome 1st Half Mistakes Against Islanders

Texas A&M- Corpus Christi came into San Marcos Wednesday night and pulled the Bobcats down to .500 in Conference play. Texas State went into the recess period down by double-digits, and for good reason. The Bobcats racked up a whopping 16 turnovers, and an abysmal 2 assists that accompanied 31% shooting from the field. It also did not help that their Islander counterparts shot 50% and compiled 17 points off turnovers all in the 1st half.

A&M-Corpus star player Kevin Palmer was not a factor at all in the first half as he was called for two quick charging fouls in the 1st half. This was supposed to give the ‘cats a slight advantage, but that turned out not the case. Texas State’s perimeter defense was very tough all night, but their interior defense did not show up at all in the 1st half. The Islanders had a couple of dunks and a few uncontested layups that were simply unacceptable, especially in a conference game at home.

However, after the halftime recess, the Bobcats came back inside ready to get physical. Give credit to Coach Davalos, as he had his team make adjustments going into the 2nd half, specifically to get physical against their opponents. The ‘Cats were getting to cup, Ryan White and Cameron Johnson especially, and they were drawing lots of contact but the referees were letting them play. Because they were not getting to the line often, the Bobcats caught themselves trailing by an intimidating 18-points, but they battled back. They cut the A&M lead down to 3 points, but that is when things got a little chippy.

Around the 6-minute mark, all of that physical play became a problem, a problem for the referees anyway. They went from swallowing their whistles to falling in love with the sound it makes when you blow in it a little. Palmer, who was held to one field goal in the 1st half, finished the game 1/4 from the field but had a total of 15 points. How you ask? Well, he shot a gawking 15 free-throws in the 2nd half alone. He went 12/15 from the line in that half, which is what the entire Texas State squad shot the whole night. Not only that, but his team shot an additional 11 free-throws, all in the 2nd period of play.

However, let’s not get the wrong idea here. I am, by no means, putting the blame on the referees because they were not the ones throwing up bricks and turning the ball over in crucial situations. Texas State just wasn't clutch when it counted.

The bottom line is that the Bobcats showed a lot of heart and perseverance getting back into this game tonight in front of their home crowd. However, their efforts will unfortunately go unnoticed by many because they chalked up another tally in the loss column.

John Rybak’s struggles from the field continued as he went 2/10 from the field and 1/9 from long range. Ryan White, who was aggressive all night, went 3-11 from the field. White’s numbers are not as bad as they sound because there was a stretch where he was the only one making plays, but his 4 turnovers could be cleaned up a little.

The Bobcats will host Central Arkansas this Saturday, January 16 at Strahan Coliseum. Tip off is a 4 pm and KTSW will have pregame coverage immediately following the conclusion of the womens' 2 pm game at Central Arkansas. You can listen live on 89.9 FM KTSW, ktsw.net and txstatebobcats.com.

-Robert Fisher, KTSW Sports Staff Writer