SAN MARCOS, Texas— The Wildcats went on the road once again to battle the Bobcats of Texas State on Monday night. The team was looking for back-to-back wins for the first time this season, as well as their first DI win of the year. The Wildcats played tough defense and held the Bobcats to just 61 points but they were unable to get their offense going in the second half, scoring just 20 points. ACU tried to close the gap down the stretch, but TXST made their free throws to secure the 61-56 win.
Key Plays
- Both teams got out to a slow start offensively. ACU held a 3-0 lead at the first media timeout.
- Kolton Kohl gave the Wildcats the early advantage after scoring back-to-back buckets, putting ACU up 7-0 early.
- Texas State scored their first points of the game with 13:09 left in the first half.
- The Bobcats used a 9-2 run between the 8:57 and 6:54 marks of the first half to give TXST a 21-19 lead.
- Wildcats closed the half on a 9-3 run to take the 36-30 lead into halftime.
- TXST opened the second half on a 5-0 run.
- After Clay Gayman made a jumper to give ACU the 46-44 lead, the Wildcats went scoreless over the next 7:20 allowing the Bobcats to take an eight-point lead.
- The Bobcats started the game 13 from the free throw line, but went 3-4 down the stretch to help secure the win.
Turning Point
The Bobcats held the Wildcats scoreless over 7:20 in the second half to go up eight points and swing the momentum in their favor.
Stat Pack
- Payten Ricks led the team with 13 points, going 3-5 from three-point range. He also grabbed eight rebounds on the night.
- TXST's Pearson was held in check for most of the game despite scoring 16 points to lead all scorers. He score eight quick points in the first half, but the Wildcats held him without a field goal from 7:22 in the first half until 9:01 in the second half.
- Kolton Kohl score in double figures for the fourth time this season, both he and Ricks have had four double-digit scoring games.
- This was the first game on the season where the Wildcats had more turnovers than their opponent, 16-13.
- The Wildcats went with the starting lineup of Miller, Ricks, Mason, Pleasant, and Gayman for the second consecutive game.
- ACU outrebounded the Bobcats 40-30.
- ACU shot 17.6 percent in the second half, including going 0-6 from three. They made just five field goals in the half.
Gold Mine
On the second half shooting: "We had some good looks but we need to finish around the basket. We had several missed layups and we have to convert on high-percentage shots if we want to close games out down the stretch."
On the solid defensive start to the game: "We were able to get them out of rhythm offensively, but we were also grabbing rebounds off of their misses. Defense doesn't end until you secure the rebound and we did a great job of that early, as well as throughout the game."
Up Next
ACU will be on the road once again as they travel to take on SMU in Dallas for their final game in the Southwestern Showdown presented by Engage Telehealth. The game is on Friday, November 29, with the tip scheduled for 7 p.m. You can watch the game on ESPN3.
