Spring Cleaning? ‘Cats Sweep Roadrunners in I-35 Rivalry

Round two of the annual I-35 rivalry between Texas State and UTSA tipped off in San Antonio Wednesday night, as it was UTSA’s turn to play host. The Bobcats took care of home court in the first game a few weeks back, and UTSA planned on doing the same. However, they could not take care of business and Texas State left the Convocation Center with an 83-76 victory.

As if this dated rivalry needed any more drama, the teams provided it anyway. With the Southland Conference Tournament right around the corner, there was a logjam in the middle of the standings. There were four teams sitting at 8-6, Texas State at 7-7, and four teams with 5-9 records. UTSA was one of those 8-6 teams battling for the third seed so that just made the contest even more intense. With nearly the entire gym sporting their infamous “Beat Texas State” shirts, the show began and did not disappoint.

Much like their first meeting, and every UTSA/Texas State matchup, the Bobcats came out firing. Uriel Segura connected on his first three shot attempts going 2-2 from three-point range and adding 10 quick points. Big E, Bidias A’ Moute, blocked two consecutive shots on the other end to get his team’s juices flowing and they never stopped.

Cameron Johnson was suspended from playing in Texas State’s win on Saturday, so I think he had a lot to get off his chest. Starting off the game on 5-7 shooting, Cam had his way with the defense all night. He went into break having missed three free throws, 3-6, and ended up going 11-14 from the line. He totaled up 29 points to go along with 9 rebounds and he lead his team to victory. Ryan white also did his part as he was aggressive all night long. He was getting to the paint at will and made good decisions once he got there. White finished with 18 points and 4 rebounds while spending most of his night chasing Devin Gibson on the other end. White played a total of 36 minutes as Johnson tallied up 34.

The ‘Cats were struggling early in the game with their 12 turnovers going into the recess period. However, they cleaned up those problems and when the final buzzer rang, the Bobcats had 15 total miscues. Their efficient play in the second half is what got Texas State the key win, and allowed them to get out the brooms because they swept the Roadrunners in the season series 2-0.

With the victory, the ‘Cats can go into Saturday’s game against conference juggernaut, Sam Houston State, with a little breathing room. If the Conference Tournament started today, Texas State would have the fifth seed behind Sam Houston, SFA, A&M-Corpus Christi and Southeastern Louisiana. With that being said, it does not really matter because everyone’s records are so close that Saturday’s games could re-seed a few teams. The Bobcats’ senior night and season finale is on Saturday at Strahan Coliseum as the ‘cats play host to Sam Houston. Tip off has been changed to 2 p.m. and pregame coverage will start at 1:45. Catch the game on Stretch Internet at txstatebobcats.com

-Robert Fisher, KTSW Sports Staff Writer