December 8th, 2009
Bobcats fall at Southern Methodist

STAFF REPORT

Texas State’s men’s basketball team rallied a couple times in Dallas Monday night, but they never could get over the hump in a 94-86 loss at Southern Methodist.

The Bobcats fell to 3-6, although newcomers J.B. Conley, Tony Bishop and Uriel Segura each reached career highs with 18 points.

SMU built a 52-41 halftime lead on uncharacteristic three-point shooting. Entering the game making only 21.7 percent (15 of 69) from long range, the Mustangs made 12 of their 23 three-point attempts before halftime.

The Bobcats began the second half whittling that deficit to 52-50 with nine straight points as Segura scored seven points during the first three minutes after the break. However, SMU quickly extended that lead back out to 84-63 with a 22-13 run through the next ten minutes.

The Bobcats mounted another rally to come within 86-81 on Bishop’s jumper with 2:57 left. But Texas State could come no closer as SMU salted it away, evening its record at 3-3.

“I am real proud of the guys who were in there at the end of the game because they had a lot of fight in them and we almost won the game,” said Texas State head coach Doug Davalos. “Our guys fought and really believed they could get into the game, and they showed that.

The Bobcats will next play Saturday against No. 2 Texas at the Erwin Center in Austin. The tip is at 3 p.m. The game will be on Fox Sports Southwest, ESPN Full Court and ESPN360.com.