SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball jumped out to a 13-2 lead and never trailed in a 90-64 win over the University of South Alabama Monday night at Strahan Coliseum.

The Bobcats improve to 17-11 overall and 10-6 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Jags drop their third straight to fall to 13-16 and 6-10.

"The biggest thing with Texas State is they're defending at a really high level," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "They're the most physical team in our league guarding and they don't give you an opportunity to get easy baskets. Offensively, they're very patient and make you guard for long possessions. They take advantage of mismatches and then you throw in a first-team all-league guy like (Kavin) Gilder-Tilbury, you have the makings of a really good basketball team that's peaking at the right time."

Texas State shot 58.6 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from 3-point land, and won the rebounding battle 36-21.

The Bobcats scored 13 of the first 15 points – seven from Kavin Gilder-Tilbury – after converting 5 of 6 to start the contest. On the other end of the court, the Jags went just 1 for 5 with a turnover.

"Obviously we didn't get off to a very good start and we subbed right away," Graves said. "The physicality really bothered us. It was something we talked about Sunday at film and in practice, and attempted to re-emphasize on Monday. I need to do a better job of getting that message through because they punched us in the mouth in the first half and we didn't respond."

South Alabama scored six unanswered to get within seven with 5:40 left in the first half, but Texas State finished with a 16-5 run, including a triple from Gilder-Tilbury just before the buzzer to take a 45-27 lead into the break.

USA used a 14-6 run right after halftime to get back in the game and was down just 51-41 with 15:38 to go, but TXST answered with a 12-5 burst to go back up 17.

Later in the half, the Bobcats went on a 14-2 run take their largest lead of the game, 79-52.

"In the first 10 minutes of the second half, we played with physicality and shared the basketball, and defended the way we're capable of," Graves stated. "The problem is when you dig yourself such a deep hole, it's very difficult to come back.

"To their credit, they made five shots with one second on the shot clock. They did a good job of running their offense all the way down and converting at the end. They banked two 3-point shots in, so it wasn't our night."

Gilder-Tilbury led all scorers with 26 points – his most ever against South Alabama – by shooting 10 for 15 from the field and 4 for 8 from 3-point land. He made it a double-double with a game-best 11 rebounds.

"He was phenomenal tonight," Graves said. "If we had the most improved player award in the Sun Belt, I think he would be right there in the mix to get that. That young man has worked really hard on his game and he played extremely well for them tonight. He did a wonderful job."

Nijal Pearson joined Gilder-Tilbury in double-figures with 15 points. Ojai Black had 14 points, Marlin Davis added 11 and Nedeljko Prijovic tallied 10; they combined to shoot 13 for 16 from the floor.

Senior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) was the only Jaguar in double-figures with 14.

The Jaguars close out the regular season at home, starting Thursday against Little Rock at 7:05 p.m.

NOTES: South Alabama has lost 11 straight road games in the state of Texas… Gilder-Tilbury was averaging 7.0 points with a high of 16 in seven career games vs. USA entering tonight… The Jags were one off their season low in total rebounds and offensive rebounds (6)… Texas State's 92.9 free-throw percentage and 25 assists are the most by an opponent this season… The Bobcats won the points in the paint (44-26), second chance points (15-4), fast break points (12-6) and bench points (28-18)… South Alabama is now 1-9 this season when losing the bench points… Williams returned to double-digit points after having his 12-game streak broken Saturday at Texas-Arlington… Williams passed Andy Denny for seventh at USA in career field goals with 536… Williams is 0 for 9 from behind the arc in his last two games… Freshman Josh Ajayi (El Monte, Calif.) didn't miss tonight, going 2 for 2 from the floor, 1 for 1 from 3-point land and 4 for 4 from the free-throw line, but was held to nine points, just his fourth single-digit scoring game against a league opponent this season… Freshman Trhae Mitchell (Austell, Ga.) was also perfect, converting 3 for 3 for seven points; he is averaging 7.4 points, and shooting 70.7 percent from the floor and 77.8 percent from distance since joining the starting lineup 10 games ago… Williams and Mitchell dished out four assists apiece; Williams has eight assists and two turnovers in the last two games… Williams tied his career high with four steals, tying the most by a USA player this season… Mitchell set a new personal best with four blocks, giving him 20 on the season, second most on the team.

The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy.  New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your school's ticket office.  For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the #FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.

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).

Join the Jaguar Athletic Fund (JAF) Priority Fund, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to the Priority Fund directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/sports/2013/3/13/Gridiron%20Club.aspx?id=22

—USA—