Texas State (20-11, 13-7 Sun Belt) ended its regular season on sour note as South Alabama (20-11, 13-7) snapped the Bobcats’ five-game win streak in Mobile, Alabama on Tuesday, 58-54.
The Jaguars began the game winning the tipoff and jumping out to a 12-0 lead by the 16:17 mark of the first half. The maroon and gold struggled to find good shots on offense, going 0-4 from the field and committing three turnovers.
Senior forward Eric Terry finally got the visitors on the board 46 seconds later with a fastbreak layup. The Bobcats found their footing and later tied the game up at 23-23 with 5:15 remaining in the game.
South Alabama took a 32-25 lead into halftime, but a 3-pointer from junior forward Isiah Small and a pair of layups from junior guard Shelby Adams to start the second half tied the game back up.
A putback from redshirt sophomore Alonzo Sule put Texas State up 54-48 with just 3:39 to go in the game, but the team would not score again. The hosts closed out on a 10-0 run to take the 58-54 victory.
Junior guard Mason Harrell led the Bobcats with 13 points, followed by Sule with eight and a team-high seven rebounds.
The Jaguars’ win leapfrogs them over the maroon and gold, earning the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt tournament and a spot in the quarterfinals.
Texas State will be the No. 3 seed in the tourney, taking on the winner of No. 6 seed Appalachian State (17-14, 11-9) vs. No. 7 seed UT Arlington (14-17, 10-10) or No. 10 seed Coastal Carolina (15-16, 8-12). The game will be held on March 11 at 7 p.m. inside Strahan Arena and broadcasted on ESPN+.
