Box Score (html)
Box Score (pdf)

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team outscored the University of South Alabama by 10 points over the first seven minutes after halftime to pull away with an 82-71 win Thursday night at Strahan Coliseum.

The Bobcats improve to 10-5 overall and 4-2 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Jaguars drop to 4-12 and 2-4.

"I was very surprised by how the game went tonight, even at halftime when we were down four and it was 38-34; I would have guessed the score would've been 18-14," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "The way they really play defense and get after you, I thought it would be a more grind-it-out kind of game. It really turned into a game where guys on both sides of the ball were scoring fairly easily. We turned the ball over way too much. We shot over 54 percent and got to the free-throw line 34 times and made 27, but when it came down to doing physical, tough things, they were clearly the winner in that category tonight and I think that propelled them."

South Alabama fell despite converting 54.1 percent of its field goals and hitting 27 of its 34 free-throw attempts.

Sophomore Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) and freshman Taishaun Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) combined to score 42 of the Jaguars' 71 points. Williams had a game-high 23 on 6 of 9 shooting from the floor, 3 of 3 from 3-point land and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line. Johnson recorded a career-best 19 on 5 of 8 shooting overall and he made all nine attempts from the foul line.

"I thought Ken did a good job to get 23 points on nine shots, and Taishaun to get 19 points on eight shots," Graves said. "Both of those guys got to the free-throw line and went 17-for-19; that's a really good thing.

"Offensively our percentages were good—we need to take care of the ball better—but it's concerning that you have seven assists on 20 field goals. A lot of our play was more 1-on-1 and creating your own shot, partly because Texas State wasn't letting us get open and reverse the ball. Their physicality took us out of what we wanted to do."

The Bobcats put four players—all starters—in double figures, led by Emani Gant, who scored 18 of his team-high 22 in the first half, going 11-for-14 from the field. Kavin Gilder-Tilbury had 16, Ethan Moltalvo tallied 14 on four 3-pointers and D.J. Brown put up 12 and four assists.

Texas State shot 55.2 percent in the first half, 53.4 percent for the contest and made 10 of 17 (58.8%) from 3-point land.

"We've got to understand that, on the defensive side of the ball, if you want to compete for championships, you can't give up 80 points on a lot of nights," Graves said. "We've done that several times this year, especially during conference play, and our defensive numbers are skyrocketing right now. We're scoring the ball, but we don't compete on the other end of the floor. We have a lot of figuring out to do and I don't have the answer right now without looking at more film and thinking about it. Our problem is clearly on the defensive side of the ball as it relates to the toughness and physicality aspect."

Montalvo sparked the Bobcats' game-breaking 17-7 run to start the second half with eight points, six from behind the 3-point line. The Jaguars committed six turnovers over that stretch, including three straight to start the half, while Texas State went 6-for-12 from the floor with three 3-pointers.

Two Gant buckets sandwiched a Montalvo triple on three straight trips down the floor, and after two free throws from USA senior Dionte Ferguson (Prattville, Ala.), Montalvo hit another trey and Brown put the Bobcats up 14 (55-41) at the 13:02 mark.

Texas State would lead by no fewer than 11 the rest of the way and stretched its advantage to as many as 18 midway through the period.

The Jaguars go to Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday for a 7:15 p.m. contest.

NOTES: Williams is the first USA player to score 23 or more points in three straight games since Demetric Bennett in December 2007… Stevens had his run of games with five or more assists snapped at five, and he last had more turnovers (4) than assists (2) on Nov. 22 at Detroit… Ferguson, who was averaging 18.0 points in his previous three games, was held to six on 1 of 2 shooting from the floor… Ferguson has not shot worse than 50 percent since Dec. 23, a span of six games… South Alabama last scored 71 or more in five straight games Nov. 26-Dec. 7, 2008… USA is allowing 52.0 points in its last three second halves… Texas State outrebounded South Alabama 15-14 on the Bobcats' offensive end, including 10-3 in the first half, which led to 17 second-chance points… TXST turned USA's 19 turnovers into 26 points, a season high by an opponent; the Jags have given up 51 points off 35 turnovers in the last two games… Gant's 18 first-half points are the most by a Jaguar opponent this season…  Texas State's 10 triples tie the most given up by USA this season (Appalachian State)… The Jaguars' last three opponents are shooting 28-for-55 (50.1%) from 3-point land in the last three games… Johnson's 9-for-9 performance at the free-throw line is the best by a USA player this season.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

—USA—