SAN MARCOS, Texas – Little Rock trailed by 14 early in the first half and rallied to within one on a pair of occasions, but Texas State's experience and depth helped the Bobcats pull away to a 68-50 win over the Trojans at Strahan Arena Satuday afternoon.
Little Rock shot just 39.6% from the floor, making 19-of-48, and struggled from three point range, knocking down just four of its 19 attempts (21.1%). The Trojans were just 8-of-12 (66.7%) from the free throw line as well.
Myron Gardner and
D.J. Smith both led Little Rock with 10 points each as Gardner added seven rebounds with two assists and two steals, but made just five of his 17 attempts from the floor, going 0-for-5 from three point range.
Smith was 4-of-9 with three rebounds, two assists and three steals, playing all 40 minutes for the third consecutive game.
Jordan Jefferson nearly joined the duo in double figures, finishing with nine points while
Jovan Stulic and
CJ White each added seven points with Stulic matching Gardner for the team-high in rebounds with seven.
After being dominated on the boards 42-20 in the first meeting between the two, Little Rock had a much better showing, only being outrebounded by one at 26-25. The two teams were even in the paint, scoring 24 points each, but Texas State outscored the Trojans 19-11 in points off turnovers, forcing 14 Little Rock takeaways, while shooting 52.3% from the floor (23-of-44) and making seven of its 21 three point attempts.
Similar to Thursday's game at UT Arlington, Little Rock had a sluggish start out of the gate and spotted the opposition a significant lead, watching Texas State use a 14-0 run to build a 16-2 lead at the 13:39 mark of the first half. Little Rock would begin to chip away, outscoring the Bobcats 12-4 over the next six minutes to get to within six at 20-14.
The Trojans and Bobcats matched each other for the remainder of the first half, closing the opening half on a 6-2 run to pull to within five at 31-26 at intermission. Little Rock shot 40% through the opening 20 minutes, but was just 1-for-9 from three point range, compared to Texas State shooting 52.2%.
Little Rock carried the momentum early into the second half, using a 7-0 run off a three from Jefferson and back-to-back baskets from Gardner to trim the lead to a single point at 34-33 with 16:22 remaining. After a three from the Bobcats, Stulic hit a three of his own to once again pull Little Rock within one at 37-36 with 15:11 to go.
But Texas State responded with a 7-0 run to push the lead back to eight, and continued to slowly pull away from Little Rock over the final 15 minutes. The Bobcats closed the game on a 6-0 run, extending its lead to a game-high 18 points, which would be the final margin of victory.
Texas State was led by 19 points from Mason Harrell and 12 points from Nighael Ceaser in the final meeting between the two teams as Sun Belt opponents. The win for the Bobcats was their seventh-straight and 11th in the last 12 meetings, improving to 13-9 in the all-time series.
After playing six of the last eight on the road, Little Rock now returns home for the final two games of the regular season, hosting the Carolina schools for the final time. This week's schedule has been adjusted slightly as all Sun Belt schools will play on Wednesday and Friday, beginning with App State on Wednesday February 23. Opening tip against the Mountaineers is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Jack Stephens Center.
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