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Texas State Looks for a Lift
Jan. 25, 2008
San Antonio, Tx. - The I-35 rivalry will come to a head this weekend as the Texas State Bobcats travel to San Antonio for a tilt with the Roadrunners of UTSA Saturday. Both teams will try for its third-league victory in the contest, as Texas State is 2-3 and UTSA is at an even 2-2. The Bobcats are working to overcome an 82-69 dropped decision at Strahan Coliseum Thursday night to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders. The loss shifts the Bobcats to the last place spot in West division competition. Brandon Bush led the team with 19 points in Thursday night's effort, Brent Benson chipped in 17 and Ryan White notched a career-high 13 points, but as a team the Bobcats were only .313 from the field, a mark that couldn't hold a torch to the Islanders fire. These three players must put forth another shining effort for a push over UTSA this Saturday. Bush has led the team throughout the year and ranks fifth in the SLC with 15.6 average points a game. Benson, who sees an average of 20 minutes on the court each game, has consistently scored over ten points off the bench in nearly every Bobcat contest this season. White has surfaced in SLC action, averaging eight points and three assists. The guard boasts a .833 shooting average from the free throw line, as well. Texas-San Antonio fell to Texas-Arlington on the road, 56-50 that shut down a 2-0 SLC winning streak. However, UTSA will be without their leading scorer Travis Gibbidon due to a broken foot in Saturday's contest. Gabbidon recorded four 30-point games before his injury and remains 8th in the league with a 13.9 scoring average. JohnMark Ludwick has stepped up to aid the Roadrunners in the absence of Gibbidon. Ludwick averages 15.7 points over the past three outings, with his best coming against Central Arkansas. The freshman nearly had a perfect outing on 6-6 field shooting, 6-6 beyond the three-point mark, and missing just one of six from the stripe, in his 23-point outing.
As a team, Texas-San Antonio averages 65.4 points per game, ninth overall in the SLC. Aside from the offensive slate, the Roadrunners rank fourth on the defensive boards at the 32.7 mark. The team is second behind Texas State with steals, averaging 9.29 per game. The all-time series between the neighboring schools stands 16-28 in Texas-San Antonio's favor, however the Bobcats won both meetings last season, a 67-63 contest in San Marcos, as well as a 77-65 victory on the road. Tip is slated for a 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center. |
