Men's Basketball Scores First SLC Win in Arlington

Of all the adjectives to describe Texas State's performance in non-conference play, "clutch" may not be the first that comes to mind. However, the Bobcats showed their poise on Saturday afternoon as Tony Bishop made some key free throws late in the game and Texas State shook off a pesky UT-Arlington squad to take an exciting 64-60 decision in Texas Hall. The 'Cats were not perfect by any means in this game--they committed a stunning 32 fouls and 28 turnovers and only shot 25% from three-point range--but did just enough to bring home a win in a game that UT-Arlington coach Scott Cross described as "absolutely disgusting to watch."

The game started out with Texas State clinging to a slight bit of momentum as they held tenuous leads for most of the first fifteen minutes of the 1st half. However, UTA switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense, a scheme Texas State has not seen often this year, and the Bobcats were stymied on offense for the remainder of the half. UTA went on a 22-12 run and took a 36-29 lead and a significant helping of momentum into halftime. Some Bobcat fans at that point may have been reminded of earlier non-conference matchups where Texas State surrendered its lead and never recovered.

However, the 'Cats came out in the second half and showed their resilience. Texas State exploded out of the game in the first four minutes to register a 12-2 run and retook the lead at the 16:02 mark. Six of those 12 points came from Jonathan Sloan, who played like a man possessed down in the low post on that early run. Both teams then traded defensive blows--and fouls, lots of them--down to the wire. That's when Ryan White and Tony Bishop, who both led the 'Cats in scoring with 14, took over. White hit a layup with two minutes remaining to boost the Bobcats to a 61-58 lead, but UTA's J.D. Davis soon answered with a dunk on the other end. Bishop then was fouled with 31 seconds remaining as he made an all-important rebound off of a missed three by UTA's Dwight Gentry. Bishop, with ice in his veins, sunk both free throws to put the Bobcats up by 3, grabbed another defensive rebound on the other end, was fouled again, and hit one of two free throws to put Texas State up by two possessions with 8 seconds left. That 64-60 score would end up being the final, as UTA was unable to conjure up a miracle as the clock struck zero.

Cross wasn't kidding about his comment about this game being "absolutely disgusting to watch". KTSW Men's Basketball Play-by-Play commentator Bill Culhane described this game as "about as physical of a Southland Conference game as I've ever seen" in his over 13 years of experience calling Bobcat basketball. There were 5 ties, 5 lead changes, and, more stunningly, 59 total fouls called and 56 total turnovers committed. Bobcat head coach Doug Davalos and coach Cross yelled themselves hoarse at Southland Conference officials Brad Fowler, Gregory White, and Dennis Howard all game, as a number of missed calls plagued both teams throughout the ballgame. However, to be fair to the officials, Coach Davalos mentioned that this was a "tough game to officiate," most likely due to the bodies of players flying all over the place that make it difficult for referees to find the correct angles to make a call. Either way, the 'Cats will gladly take a win from a game as intense as this one.

With the win, Texas State improves to 7-8 overall and 1-0 in SLC play. The Bobcats will travel back home to Strahan to face Texas A&M - Corpus Christi on Wednesday. In their last contest, TAMU-CC escaped Conway, Arkansas with a 64-59 win over Central Arkansas in the SLC opener for both squads. Texas State will face off against the Islanders at 7 pm, if you can't make it to Strahan you can listen to Bill Culhane and Brant Freeman live on the Stretch Internet section of txstatebobcats.com.

-Will Butler, KTSW Sports Director/Blog Editor