Box Score Box Score
KATY, Texas – Ryan White scored 26 points, including a pair of free throws with 1:19 remaining, that gave Texas State a 72-68 win over Southeastern Louisiana in the quarterfinals of the State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament Wednesday night at the Merrell Center.
Tony Bishop added 18 points, including two free throws with 10 seconds remaining, to help No. 4-seeded Texas State (16-15) advance to Thursday's semifinal contest against top-seeded McNeese State. Southeastern, making its eighth straight appearance in the postseason, ended its season at 15-14.
Texas State led 66-60 with 4:33 remaining after a jumper by Cameron Johnson before Southeastern answered on a 3-pointer by
Jason Marks – the first of his career – that cut the lead to 66-63 with 4:00 left.
A pair of free throws by
Brandon Fortenberry cut the Bobcat lead to 66-65 with 2:15 left and the Lions forced a turnover when Fortenberry knocked the ball away from White as he was driving to the basket.
The Lions turned the ball right back over as Bishop stepped in front of a Marks pass and scored easily on a layup that gave Texas State a 68-65 advantage. White added a pair of free throws for a 70-65 lead before Southeastern cut the lead on its next possession as Fortenberry buried a 3-pointer from the left corner at the 1:08 mark.
Southeastern forced another Bobcat turnover as
David Ndoumba knocked the ball away from White and giving the Lions another chance at tying the game. But the Lions turned the ball over as Fortenberry's pass to Ndoumba was knocked away by White and Southeastern couldn't maintain possession, giving the ball back to Texas State.
Bishop, who was 8-for-8 from the free throw line, gave Texas State a four-point advantage and Fortenberry missed a desperation 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Southeastern erased an early 10-9 deficit as it used a 9-2 run to take an 18-12 lead with 7:54 remaining in the first half.
Gary Dixon opened the run with a 3-pointer before Ndoumba and
Deshawn Patterson each scored on layups and Dixon added a layup after a steal by Ndoumba.
After a pair of free throws by Bishop cut the lead to 22-19, Southeastern went on an 11-5 run to take its biggest lead of the game, 33-24, on a 3-pointer by
Trent Hutchin with 1:21 remaining in the first half.
Hutchin, playing in his final game for Southeastern, scored a team-high 15 points with three 3-pointers. Ndoumba, one of five seniors on the team, notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in his final game while Marks added 11 points and Patterson 10.
Southeastern finished 25-for-57 (43.9 percent) from the floor and held Texas State to 22-for-52 (42.3 percent). The Bobcats made 21 of 24 free throws and held a 35-31 advantage in rebounds.
Cameron Johnson added 14 points and four steals for Texas State before fouling out with 2:15 remaining.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (15-14)
Hutchin 5-12 2-2 15; Ndoumba 4-8 4-7 12; Marks 5-7 0-0 11; Patterson 4-10 1-1 10; Dixon 3-5 0-0 7; Fortenberry 1-8 4-6 7; Johnson 2-3 0-0 4; Benton 1-4 0-0 2; Campbell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-57 11-16 68.
TEXAS STATE (16-15)
White 7-13 8-8 26; Bishop 5-7 8-8 18; Johnson 6-14 2-4 14; Ybarra 2-5 2-2 8; Bowman 1-3 1-2 4; Conley 1-4 0-0 2; Staff 0-1 0-0 0; Jones 0-3 0-0 0; Rios 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-52 21-24 72.
Halftime – SLU 33, Texas State 28. 3-point goals – SLU 7-21 (Hutchin 3-8; Fortenberry 1-6; Patterson 1-1; Dixon 1-3; Marks 1-1; Benton 0-2), Texas State 7-19 (White 4-8; Ybarra 2-4; Bowman 1-2; Jones 0-3; Rios 0-2). Fouled out - Johnson. Rebounds – SLU 31 (Ndoumba 10), Texas State 35 (Johnson 7). Assists – SLU 15 (Ndoumba 5), Texas State 10 (Bishop 3). Total fouls – SLU 18, Texas State 17. Technical fouls - None. A – 1,292.
