Nijal Pearson put together a revenge game against Georgia State on Thursday.
The junior guard scored 27 points, including a career-high seven 3-pointers, after he had his nose broken and was ejected from the Bobcats’ first game against the Panthers on Jan. 6.
Behind Pearson’s strong outing, Texas State defeated Georgia State, 81-68, inside the GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, and now owns sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt.
The Bobcats (17-3, 6-1 Sun Belt) got off to a quick start against the Panthers (14-6, 5-2), jumping out to a 10-2 lead behind two 3-pointers from senior guard Tre Nottingham.
But Georgia State began cutting into the lead and got as close as a point of the lead twice. After Texas State saw its advantage slimmed to 15-14, the Bobcats received back-to-back buckets from redshirt freshman forward Alonzo Sule followed by a 3-pointer from Pearson to grab a 22-14 lead.
Georgia State, however, roared back to take their its lead of the night at 30-29. The Panthers extended their adavantage to as large a five. But Texas State scored the final five points of the first half, including a turnaround jumper by Sule that evened the score at 42-42.
The two teams battled early in the second half but Pearson began to take over. The Beaumont native scored four of his seven 3s in the period. Texas State’s defense contained Georgia State for most of the half to help the Bobcats secure their fifth straight win. Thursday’s result marked the Panthers’ first home loss of the season.
Alongside Pearson’s 27 points, senior forward Alex Peacock and Nottingham scored 13 points each. The Bobcats outrebounded the Panthers, 37-29.
Senior guard Devin Mitchell led Georgia State with 20 points. Senior forward Jeff Thomas added 19 points, while junior guard D’Marcus Simonds tallied 15 points.
Texas State continues its Georgia road trip against Georgia Southern (12-8, 4-2) inside Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro on Saturday at 4 p.m.
