Five Bobcats finished with a double-digit score as Texas State men's basketball defeated Sun Belt rival Georgia State 94-80 in a blackout game on Wednesday at Strahan Arena.
Before the win, Texas State had been on the road for four games.
“It was nice to be back in Strahan. I appreciate the administration and the community for imposing the power outage [game] And [for their] Support,” said head coach Terrence Johnson. “It feels really good to be home, but at the end of the day, home doesn't guarantee anything [so] It feels good to be home and even better to play like this [the game] should be played.”
Senior forward Tylan Pope led the Bobcats with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Junior forward Austin Green also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore guard Kaden Gumbs finished with 13 points and six assists, and junior guard Coleton Benson made five three-pointers and had 18 points off the bench.
After a relatively slow start and a temporary six-point deficit, the Bobcats went on a 10-0 run that eventually increased to 18-1. The team had a total of 22 assists and the ball losses were massively reduced.
Additionally, the team grabbed 26 rebounds in the first half for a total of 44, making Georgia State look completely inferior.
“I think it's obvious we got the stop we needed against Southern Miss, but we [didn’t] Get the rebound we needed,” Johnson said. “So the focus is right there between victory and defeat. That’s one of our biggest factors that we wanted to highlight coming into this game.”
Georgia State had two players both score more than 20 points. Senior center Cesare Edwards led the game in player scoring with 27, followed by his teammate, senior guard Toneari Lane, who had 25.
Texas State senior forward Tyrel Morgan, who finished the game with 13 points, was sidelined late in the second half with an undisclosed injury. Johnson said Morgan's future status is unclear.
With or without Morgan, Texas State will look to stay hot as the Southern Miss Golden Eagles are next on the schedule. The Golden Eagles lost to South Alabama 75-62 on Wednesday.
The Texas State-Southern Miss match begins at 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 18 at Strahan Arena and can be streamed on ESPN+.