Beats Lamar 81-67 improves to 6-5(SLC)

The Texas State men’s basketball team used a balance offensive attack and forced 23 turnovers to defeat Lamar 81-67 on Saturday, February 13 at Strahan Coliseum.

Cameron Johnson scored 19 points to lead Texas State as he was one of four Bobcats to score in double figures. Ryan White added 16 points and three assists despite suffering an ankle injury midway in the first half. Tony Bishop came off the bench to net 11 and John Bowman added 10 points for the Bobcats, who improved their overall record to 12-13 and their Southland Conference mark to 6-5.

The victory also was Texas State’s 10th win at home this year.  It gives the Bobcats two straight seasons with double digit victories in Strahan Coliseum. Texas State won 11 home games in 2008-09. This marks the second time in school history that the Bobcats have won double-digit home games two seasons in a row.

Lamar was led by Anthony Miles, who scored a game-high 23 points, while Kendrick Harris added 15 points. No other Cardinal scored in double figures as Lamar was held to 36.4 percent (20-55) shooting from the field, and 37.5 percent (6-16) from beyond the three-point arc. The Cardinals fell to 14-12 overall and 5-5 in Southland Conference action.

Texas State shot 42.9 percent (27-63) from the field, including 60 percent (18-30) in the second half. Both teams made 70 percent (21-30) of their free throw attempts.

Johnson scored 17 of his points in the second half, and White added 13 of his point total in the second period as the Bobcats held a 25-23 lead at halftime despite shooting just 27 percent from the field overall and making just two of their 10 three-point attempts in the opening period. The Bobcats were able to maintain a lead in the opening period by holding Lamar to just 31 percent shooting from the field and forcing 11 turnovers.

The Bobcats led 32-30 with 16:10 left to play when Texas State took control of the game with a 15-0 run during the next six minutes. Johnson led the Bobcats during the rally as he scored five points and hit Bishop for a jumper in the paint and Bowman for a dunk shot off a steal. Bishop added another lay-up off an offensive rebound and White nailed a three-point shot.

Texas State led 47-30 after a pair of free throws by Johnson before Stan Brown and Kendrick Harris combined to make three of their four free throws to end the run.

But, the Bobcats extended their lead to 22 when Dylan Hale hit John Rybak for a three-point shot, Johnson scored on a three point play after grabbing an offensive rebound and making a lay-up and free throw after being fouled on the play.

That resulted in Lamar’s head coach Steve Roccaforte storming out on the court and receiving a technical foul. Ryan White made one of the two free throws to give Texas State a 55-33 lead with 9:19 left in the game.

Johnson’s dunk shot on a fast break with 4:44 left to play gave the Bobcats their biggest lead in the game at 70-45.

Lamar used some timely three-point shooting to try and climb back into the game. First, Anthony Miles scored a four-point play when he made a three-point shot from the right wing and was fouled by Rybak on the play. He made the free throw.

After Donte Lopez made a three-point shot with 3:43 left to play, he scored another four-point play with a three-pointer and free throw after being fouled by Uriel Segura. Lopez pulled the Cardinals to within 76-63 with 1:23 with a jumper before Segura made another three-point basket of his own to extend the lead back to 16.

Minor’s two free throws with 23 seconds left made the final score 81-67.