Texas St. rallies into share of Sun Belt lead with 74-71 win

February 7, 2019

SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) — Nijal Pearson scored 19 points, including a 3-pointer to cap a 9-0 run in the last five minutes as Texas State broke away from Appalachian State 74-71 Thursday night to regain a piece of the Sun Belt Conference lead and sweep the season series with the Mountaineers.

The win puts the Bobcats (18-5) in a three-way tie with Georgia State and Texas Arlington, all at 7-3.

Tre Nottingham added 18 points and four assists for Texas State, which fought through 10 lead changes and five ties. Jaylen Shead scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting with four assists and four steals.

Appalachian State cut the Bobcats lead to 70-68 with 1:26 to go. Then Pearson hit a short jumper and Eric Terry blocked a drive by Justin Forrest with Shead cutting for a layup on the other end that pushed the lead back to six with 25 seconds to go.

Ronshad Shabazz led the Mountaineers (8-15, 3-7) with 23 points and four 3-pointers. App State saw a three-game win streak come to an end. Four of the Mountaineers' last five games have been decided by four points or fewer.

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