Ryan White scored 19 points and dished out nine assists for the Bobcats against Stephen F. Austin but the Lumberjacks were able to pull out a 73-70 overtime vistory in Nacogdoches when Jereal Scott nailed a long three-pointer with a second remaining in the extra period. (Photo courtesy Texas State University)
FROM STAFF REPORTS
A desperation three-pointer by Stephen F. Austin with time winding down in overtime sunk Texas State on the road 73-70 in a thriller Saturday in Nacogdoches.
Despite the loss, Texas State still leads the Southland Conference’s Western Division with an 8-4 record and is off to its best conference start in 13 seasons.
SFA’s Darius Gardner tossed up a long range three-pointer that connected with one second left in overtime to give the Bobcats their first taste of defeat in nearly a month. Texas State had reeled off five wins in a row before the loss.
In regulation, Ryan White, who finished with 19 points and nine assists for the Bobcats, stepped to the line with 32 seconds left and calmly sank two free throws to give Texas State a 59-58 lead, but SFA’s Jereal Scott, who led the Lumberjacks with 30 points, hit one of two free throws with seven seconds remaining to send it into overtime.
The teams went back and fourth in the extra period until Scott’s heroic shot sealed the win for SFA.
Tony Bishop led Texas State with 23 points and 13 assists.
The Bobcats will host rival Texas-San Antonio Saturday at Strahan Coliseum. Texas State lost 88-84 on the road against UTSA in January. Tipoff Saturday is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Earlier in the week, it was tale of two halves as Texas overcame a 14-point halftime deficit and came back to defeat UT-Arlington 79-71.
Eddie Rios came off the bench to score 20 points and lead four players in double figures for the Bobcats. In addition, Cameron Johnson scored 16 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, while Travis Jones netted 15 points and Bishop added 11 points to go along with his career-best four steals.
The Mavericks had a hot hand in the first half when they shot 55 percent from the field. UTA used a 17-4 run to open up a 32-21 cushion and went on to lead 39-25 at the break.
Texas State came roaring back with a 9-0 run to start the second half.
The Bobcats turned up their defensive pressure and scored seven consecutive points off of three steals to take a 47-45 lead with 12:23 left to play. The first two points came on pair of free throws by Tony Bishop. Then, White hit Rios for a 10-foot jumper from the right baseline. Rios returned the favor as he passed ahead to White for a three-point shot to give the Bobcats the lead for good.
