Texas State Suffers Heartbreaker in the Swamplands

The Texas State men’s basketball team continues to struggle to get things done on the road. With their second last-minute loss in a row, the chances of making it to the Southland Conference tournament have slimmed a bit for the Bobcats. With a 75-66 loss to Southeastern Louisiana, the Bobcats now fall to 10-12 overall and 4-4 in conference games. With the win on Wednesday the Lions now improve to 13-8 overall and 5-3 in conference games. This game was a well fought battle on both sides. However, the Bobcats did find trouble running into to one of the premiere players in the conference, Patrick Sullivan.

The crowd of 909 screaming Lions fans showed up at the University Center in Hammond, Louisiana to show their support for the home team. However, the Bobcats were able to jump in front of the Lions early with an excellent start. The Bobcats shot 42.6% from the field in the first half (12-26) and were 3-8 from 3 point land. Along with making every free-throw, the Bobcats showed they came to play. Everybody had figured that the Bobcats would be the team with foul trouble. However, the Lions sent many Bobcat players to the free throw line in this contest. Texas State certainly took advantage of this opportunity by making every basket count in the first half. Things were certainly looking the Bobcats' way for most of the opening period.

But with stellar play, you have to back it up in the second half. The Lions came out of their locker rooms thirsty for blood. Patrick Sullivan made just about every shot attempt impossible for the Bobcat players with his 8 total blocks, giving him 64 on the year. Sullivan’s presence was defiantly felt on each side of the court. Along with his 8 denials, he was able to pick up 10 total rebounds with 7 coming from the defensive side of the glass. The only player that seemed to show up for the Bobcats in the second half was Tony Bishop. Bishop came off the bench with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Turnovers seemed to affect both teams equally with 17 each. The Bobcat began to slip on defense, allowing a Sullivan dunk in the second half. With the lead becoming slimmer by the minute, Texas State found themselves looking for a miracle late in the second half.

Bobcat star player Cameron Johnson struggled against the tough Lion defense, as he fouled out with only 8 points and 5 rebounds. The Bobcats' only block was matched by a total of an eye-popping 11 by Southeastern Louisiana. There is no question Sullivan deserves player of the week once again for his excellent playing on both sides of the ball. His Lions were also very consistent in both halves, and shot an average .465 total for the game. The Bobcats can blame this loss on poor shot selections in the second half. The Cats were only 19-64 from the field, giving them a field goal average of 29.7% for the second half of the game. This could be the cause of the overwhelming presence of no doubt the top center in the Southland Conference, Patrick Sullivan.

Texas State will look to get their 4-4 record in SLC play above .500 against a struggling McNeese State squad on Saturday at 4p.m. at Strahan Coliseum. If you cannot make the game, you can listen on Stretch Internet at txstatebobcats.com.

-Tyler Thomason, KTSW Sports Staff Writer