Texas State stuns Troy in overtime behind Sykes 30

In the final game of both the regular season and at home in Strahan Arena, Texas State pulled off one of the biggest wins of the season as the Bobcats came back from a 14 point deficit to defeat the Troy Trojans 82-79.

The Bobcats were spurred by two career nights from sophomore forward Davion Sykes and junior guard Dontae Horne scoring 30 and 17 points.

“This win means a lot, especially when we built that momentum up from Tuesday,” Sykes said. “The fact we are going on another win today, we are on a roll now, and we have to keep the momentum going.”

Sykes became the first player to score 30 points in a game for the Bobcats since Eric Terry in 2020 against UT-Arlington.

Texas State closes out the regular season with a three-game winning streak having won seven out of their last ten games after previously winning only one game in their previous ten.

The Bobcats also have a six-game home winning streak having beaten two conference contenders in App State and Troy.

“This season, we have had a lot of ups and downs along with a lot of injuries,” Horne said. “But we fought through it, and tonight we showed the work we put in day in and day out. ... Tonight showed that we don’t lay down and that our hard work pays off.”

Texas State trailed 3930 to start the second half as the Bobcats started the slow process of chipping away at the Trojan lead.

Despite the Trojans stretching their lead out to ten points with over 13 minutes left in the game, the Bobcats never let up.

Trailing 57-48 with less than eight minutes left in the game, Texas State responded with a 9-2 run to make it a one possession game with 5:17 left in the game at 59-57.

Following a Troy layup by Myles Rigsby, Horne responded with a layup of his own followed up by a Jordan Mason three-pointer as Texas State took their first lead since the early part of the first half at 62-61.

With less than 1:30 left in the game, Troy took back the lead and extended it to 68-64 following a three-pointer and a free throw only for Dylan Dawson to hit his own three-pointer to make it a 68-67 game.

Troy answered back with a couple of free throws to push the lead back to three only for Horne to hit a jumper as the Bobcats pulled within one at 70-69.

The Trojans hit the first free throw but missed the second allowing Sykes to hit the game tying shot with 15 seconds left in the game to send the game into overtime.

Despite Troy scoring the first points of overtime, Texas State responded with a 5-0 run to take back the lead at 76-73.

Troy was unable to take the lead back as Texas State came away with the major 82-79 win over the Trojans.

“You couldn’t ask for a better way to cap off the regular season in Strahan Arena,” Johnson said. “These guys fought [even though] it wasn’t pretty. That is a hell of a coached team. ... There is no secret why they are a top three team in the conference but tonight was for our guys and these seniors.”

Texas State will begin the Sun Conference Tournament on Tuesday as the Bobcats will play in the first round against Old Dominion where the winner will advance to play Southern Miss.

Tip-off for Texas State and ODU is set for 7:30 p.m. tonight in Pensacola, Florida.

All SBC Tournament game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

cmcwilliams@sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc