This was the year in which the Texas State men’s basketball team was "supposed to" give the nationally ranked University of Texas a run for its money, but when it was all said and done on Saturday evening, that was not the case at all as the 'Cats lost 101-65.
The ‘Cats played a tremendously efficient first 13 minutes of basketball, and they started off shooting 5/7 from the field in the opening five minutes, which kept them competitive early on. Then they traded baskets with the 'Horns for a while after junior forward Travis Jones came into the game at the 10 minute mark and connected on back-to-back threes. It looked as if Texas State’s 2-3 zone and aggressive offensive would keep them in the game as the lead changed nine times in the first 13 minutes, until UT Head coach Rick Barnes called a timeout and put his team in check.
The Longhorns then went on a 16-4 run to close out the half for a 39-24 UT lead. For yet another game this season, the Bobcats ran into that “5-minute demise," which is what I have noticed in every ball game so far: it's a five minute spell that they consistently run into: stagnation on offense is a key variable, and the team tries its best to pull itself out of the funk, one player after another. Well, Texas State hit that slump to close out the half, and that 15-point deficit seems even steeper when facing a Top-25 team.
The ‘Cats opened up the second half much like the first, taking the ball to the hoop and playing solid defense... for about three minutes. They got the lead down to as low eleven points, and then Texas State gambled a few times too many on defense and Texas made them pay. Against good teams, you cannot make dumb mistakes on defense or take bad shots because the opponent will take advantage of those miscues, and that is what the Longhorns did.
The game really just got out of hand around this time, and it just became all UT, all the time, and the two-standout freshmen for Texas did not disappoint at all. Guard Cory Joseph finished with 19 points on 7-11 shooting (5/8 from three) as he pretty much had his way with the Bobcats. The other half of the tandem, Tristan Thompson, had a very quiet first half as A.J. Stewart played him extremely well. However, he asserted himself in the second period finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds. Those two guys are every bit as good as advertised. And oh yeah, Jordan Hamilton had another big night, 16 points, ten rebounds and five assists.
The high scorers for the Bobcats were Cameron Johnson and Tony Bishop who had 12 points a piece, and Bishop added eight rebounds. The team had another bad night at the free throw line, shooting 8-18 as a team.
So all in all, this year’s match up with Texas ended much like all the others: a blowout on the scoreboard, which quite frankly is all that matters, but there were stints in the contest where the ‘Cats played exceptionally well. Now this is worth mentioning because there have been times, more often than not for sure, where Texas State wasn’t even in the picture, and that was definitely not the case this year against the 'Horns.
This game just proves a different point: consistency needs to be a point of emphasis before they reach their conference slate. That and a few other things if they are going to reach their full potential this season.
The Bobcats will take the court again on Thursday at 7:00 PM in Fort Worth to take on Texas Southern University. KTSW will have pregame coverage on 89.9 FM and www.ktsw.net starting at 6:45.
Robert Fisher, KTSW Assistant Sports Director
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