Mason Harrell’s shot hadn’t gone up yet, but Caleb Asberry didn’t need to wait to know it would tie the game. It led to Texas State taking a 77-67 overtime victory over Little Rock inside Strahan Arena on Saturday.
The Bobcats (13-6, 7-3 Sun Belt) led the Trojans (10-9, 6-6) by 23 with 11:52 remaining in the second half. But the visitors evaporated the deficit with a 30-4 run to take a 62-59 advantage with 17 seconds on the clock.
Texas State called timeout. Interim head coach Terrence Johnson told his team to relax and showed them what he wanted to see them do with their next possession on his whiteboard.
“When he drew it up, I knew it was going in,” Asberry said.
Harrell brought the ball up, passed it to Asberry on the right wing and darted to the corner. Asberry dished it to redshirt junior forward Alonzo Sule standing near the right elbow, who handed the ball back to a charging Asberry headed for the top of the key. Asberry took one dribble and Sule set a down screen for Harrell, who flared up from the corner and received the ball back from Asberry.
Sule’s screen and the timing of Asberry’s pass gave Harrell just enough time to get his shot off over the outstretched left arm of Little Rock sophomore guard Jovan Stulic.
“When I shot it, I kind of knew it was going in, for sure,” Harrell said.
The ball swished through the net, tying the game at 62-62.
Mason Harrell ? ice water ?
— Drew King (@drewking0222) February 6, 2021
The junior guard ties the game up with a shot from deep. 7.8 seconds to go, #UALR calls time @smdrsports pic.twitter.com/c3LrV4ymjB
“To be honest with you, they ran the play to perfection. The exact same way it was on the board is the way they ran it. That doesn't happen very often, but it happened that time," Johnson said, “I just left the locker room and I told Alonzo Sule he did a great job setting the screen. Caleb did a great job of selling the play and making the pass. And when you have a good screen and you have a good pass and you have a good player, you're probably going to have a good result.“
The game wasn’t over, though. With 7.8 seconds still to go, the Trojans got the ball into the hands of sophomore guard Marko Lukic in the left corner, who at the time had made six of his seven 3-point attempts. He rose to try for the game-winner but senior forward Isiah Small rejected it just before the buzzer sounded, sending the game into overtime.
The hosts had scored just three points in the final 6:54 of regulation, which Johnson attributed to fatigue. Redshirt senior guard Marlin Davis injured his right leg during Friday’s game against Little Rock and spent Saturday’s game watching from the sidelines on crutches. It led to a heavy workload for Harrell and Asberry — Harrell saw the floor for 43:44 and Asberry for 41:34, each of the junior guards respectively reaching a new career-high in minutes.
“I’m pretty exhausted,” Asberry said.
“Very tired,” Harrell added.
But the team found a way to fight through it in overtime and regained its footing on offense, missing just one shot during the period.
Small won the tip-off and both sides traded treys to begin overtime. Small drilled another 3 to put the Bobcats back in front, sparking an 8-1 run by the maroon and gold to put them ahead 73-66.
The Trojans failed to score in the last minute of the game and the Bobcats secured the 77-67 win to earn their second series sweep of the season against Little Rock. Johnson noted he was proud that his players went 4-0 against a team he has a deep respect for.
“I think what it says about us is that we will continue to respect them. Because we know that they could have been on the other side of this as well,” Johnson said. “You know, they're well-coached, they're well-prepared. But I think what it says about us is that we don't take any opponent lightly. You know, certainly, we respect but we don't fear. And we rise to the occasion, which we did tonight.”
“We feel like every time we play them, it's like a kind of rivalry game,” Harrell said. “So we come in with that mindset every time.”
Harrell and Asberry tied for a team-high 21 points each, followed by Small with 12 and junior forward Nighael Ceasar with 11. Asberry led Texas State with six rebounds. Small snagged a team-leading four steals and tied with Harrell and Asberry to lead the Bobcats with four assists each.
Texas State, now a full week removed from suffering through a sweep at the hands of Louisiana, will look to ride the momentum with a pair of games against UT Arlington (11-9, 7-5). The team will face the Mavericks on the road Thursday at 6 p.m., then host UTA inside Strahan Arena on Saturday at 4 p.m.
“Pretty much, I'd say it's a huge step forward, especially after what just happened last week,” Asberry said. “It's a huge step forward for us.”
