McNeese State Beats Texas State at its Own Game, 91-83
By Brandon C. Williams
Southland.org
KATY, Texas - Once Texas State tried to get their transition attack in gear, McNeese State was all too willing to play along.
The Cowboys beat the Bobcats at their own game in a 91-83 victory that puts coach Dave Simmons' team (21-10) into Saturday's title game of the State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament, where top-seeded McNeese will look to capture the program's first tournament title since 2002 when they take on seventh-seed UTSA at 3:05 p.m., Central.
McNeese's dominance was defined by their 14-2 edge against Texas State (16-16) in fast-break points.
"We knew what to expect from them," said Cowboys guard Diego Kapelan, who was one of five McNeese players in double figures with 17 points.
A tight contest began to get away from Texas State in the final 2:14 of the first half, where the Cowboys outscored the Bobcats 9-1, including a fall away jumper from Patrick Richard (16 points) as the horn sounded, giving McNeese a 37-28 halftime advantage.
The Bobcats were never able to get within six points of the Cowboys, who broke the game wide open with a 17-4 run during a stretch of 7:03 in the second half.
"They never looked vulnerable out there tonight," said Texas State coach David Davalos of the Cowboys.
McNeese led 83-63 at the 3:27 mark, but the Bobcats refused to concede, fouling the Cowboys at every stop. The scheme worked as Texas State slowly whittled the deficit down behind a barrage of 3-pointers, including three from reserve guard Eddie Rios that helped make the final margin more respectable.
The Cowboys went to the free throw line 42 times, scoring 19 of their last 21 points from the charity stripe. C.J. Collins was the most frequent visitor, connecting on 13 of his 16 trips.
The late fireworks were too late for Texas State, which was never able to string together enough defensive stops to trigger an offense that led the conference in scoring. While the Bobcats shot 53 percent in the second half, the defense allowed McNeese to shoot at a 55 percent clip.
"It's hard to run when you're taking the ball out of the net," said Davalos.
Much of McNeese's damage came inside against Texas State, where the Cowboys held a 40-32 edge in points in the paint, a total that was boosted by the play of forward P.J. Alawoya, who scored 10 of his game-high 18 points in the first half.
The Cowboys also got a welcome contribution from junior forward Daniel Richard, who came off the bench and provided 11 points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of work.
Richard also came up with one of the game's pivotal plays. After a dunk from Texas State's Tony Richard revived the Bobcats' hopes, Richard effectively silenced them on the ensuing possession with a dunk of his own, resulting in a 3-point play that made the score 77-59.
"It felt great to get the momentum back to us," he said.
Bishop and Ryan White led the Bobcats with 16 points each, while Rios added 14 and Cameron Johnson chipped in with 13 before fouling out in the final five minutes.
Collins and Patrick Richard had 16 each for McNeese.
The Cowboys lost their only meeting to UTSA, a 65-61 decision in San Antonio on Feb. 16. McNeese shot just 31 percent from the field as Roadrunners guard Devin Gibson had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in the contest.
McNeese State Quotes
Coach Dave Simmons
Opening Statement: "This is what we came here for, to get an opportunity to play for the conference tournament championship and to play in the NCAA tournament. It was a tough game. It hasn't been easy getting here. Nicholls State and Texas State both were serious competitors. We didn't really know what to expect because the last time we played them was the first game of the year. It was a high scoring game; we knew they could score points. They have a lot of depth inside and outside. We just came to play hard and said coming into today we would leave it all out on the court."
On bench play today vs. Nicholls: "C.J. Collins played 40 minutes yesterday so I wasn't sure how much I could use him today. I was trying to give him a break using all our timeouts. Yesterday Nicholls was such a grinding game and you ask any coach in our league to try and guard them for a full 30 second shot clock is very grueling. We knew what we came for in our mission, but the biggest thing is I have to give credit to our five seniors. There is no quit in these guys and they kept us going today."
On playing tournament championship vs. UTSA: "The first thing we will have to do is contain Devin Gibson. After watching what he has done so far in the tournament against Northwestern State and Sam Houston State, we know how capable of a player he is and he's the key to their success right now. But we've got some matchup problems for them as well. It will be a game where both teams will play like champions and I'm looking forward to the opportunity."
Patrick Richard
On hustle plays against Texas State: "We believe every person on our team can make a play, they work hard every single day and we believe in each other. I'm not surprised at all today from our level of play."
P.J. Alawoya
On blocks and defense in the first half: "Preston has been such a big presence for us in the paint, so when he gets a block it puts into all of us. It puts the momentum into all of us, and we're very appreciative for what he does. To get those blocks was very big for us.
Texas State Quotes
Coach Doug Davalos
Opening Statement: "McNeese State played outstanding tonight and they deserve to move on. They're the best offensive team in the league and very tough to guard. They were tough to keep in front, we didn't get enough stops and I thought 83 points was really good for us but not when you give up 93. I'm so proud of this team. Nobody outside knows what these guys have gone through, and these two guys up here next to me (Cameron Johnson and Ryan White) made a leap of faith when the program was 3-24 with one conference win and they came into the program when it didn't turn around over night. They chose to come and spend four years of their life invested with me at Texas State. They're outstanding human beings and I say this about all my seniors but these guys are first class. We are where we are and our future is bright because these guys have laid an outstanding foundation for the future of our program."