SAN MARCOS. TEXAS (December 14, 2008) The Texas State men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Strahan Coliseum Monday night when the Bobcats play host to the University of New Orleans at 7:00 p.m.
Texas State enters the game with a 3-5 record after suffering an 81-73 loss at sixth-ranked Texas last Saturday. Texas State has a 2-0 record in home games this season after beating Huston-Tillotson 104-81 on Nov. 19 and Southwest Assemblies of God 110-65 on Dec. 3.
New Orleans also has a 3-5 record after beating Houston Baptist 77-73 in Houston. The win over Houston Baptist was the first win in road games for the Privateers, who enter Monday night's game with a 1-3 record in road contests. New Orleans suffered a 79-62 loss at Nicholls on Nov. 19, a 54-44 setback at Savannah State on Nov. 22 and a 78-60 loss at Colorado State on Nov. 26.
THE SERIES
This marks the sixth meeting between Texas State and New Orleans. The Bobcats enter the game with a 1-1 series record against the Privateeers. The last time the two teams met was on Nov. 22, 2003 when UNO won a 77-64 decision to open the 2003-04 season for both teams. In that game, Bo McCalebb and Kyle Buggs each scored 17 points to lead New Orleans, while Anthony Dill scored 16 points and Roosevelt Brown added 15 points to lead Texas State.
The Bobcats posted a 92-81 on Dec. 17, 2002 in San Marcos.
SCOUTING TEXAS STATE
Texas State is led by senior guards Brent Benson, who is averaging 19.1 points per game, and Brandon Bush who averages 13.3 points and leads the team in rebounding with a 6.4 average. John Rybak also averaged 10.1 points per game, while Cameron Johnson is chipping in with 9.9 points per contest after scoring a career-high 24 points at Texas. Junior college transfer Emmanuel Bidias A' Moute adds 6.9 points per game and sophomore center Ty Gough chips in with 5.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest. Ryan White also averages 5.4 points per game.
LAST TIME OUT
The Texas State Bobcats gave sixth-ranked Texas all it could handle for 37 minutes, but came up short in the end as the Longhorns escaped with an 81-73 victory in the Frank Erwin Center last Saturday. The Bobcats held Texas to 36 percent shooting, outrebounded the Longhorns 46-42 and their reserves outscored Texas' 43-12.
The Bobcats were led by sophomore forward Cameron Johnson's 24 points in Johnson's first start of the season. Brent Benson came off the bench to add 18 points, while Brandon Bush registered 13 points and nine rebounds to go along with his team-high two steals. Ryan White also added 10 points and career highs of eight rebounds and six assists for the Bobcats.
A.J. Abrams scored 30 points, including 13 of Texas' final 16. Texas State had held Abrams without a field goal for the first 15 minutes of the second half before he hit a baseline jumper, registered a steal and nailed a three-pointer to spark a late run. Then, Texas put it away from the free throw line. Dexter Pittman scored a career-high 17 points and had 10 rebounds despite playing just 14 minutes because of foul trouble.
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