Jan. 19, 2008

SAN MARCOS - The Texas State Bobcats look to even out their Southland Conference record as they host SLC-East foe Nicholls State on Saturday. The `Cats hope to recover from a one-point conference loss to Southeastern Louisiana in the league home opener.

The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start at Strahan Coliseum and will be broadcast on 89.9 FM KTSW as well as online through www.txstatebobcats.edu. Fans can get a full day of Bobcat basketball action on KTSW when the Texas State women tip off at 2 p.m. at Nicholls State. At the conclusion of the women's game, KTSW will switch over immediately to the men's game.

A second-half effort by the maroon and white rallied for 47 points to SLU's 39, but a proficient first half performance was too much to overcome for Texas State in the loss. Brandon Bush finished just shy of his fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and nine rebounds, while senior Chris Agwumaro chipped in 13 for the next high mark. The `Cats fell to 1-2 in league play and 8-8 overall.

Nicholls State has yet to grab a victory since their SLC opener with Stephen F. Austin, when the team took a 58-57 overtime victory against the Lumberjacks. The Colonels then departed for a two-game road spell, falling to Sam Houston State, 51-61, and Texas Arlington, 60-69. NSU is now 6-12 overall and 1-2 in league play.

Ryan Bathie led the team with a career-high 27 points in the loss against the Mavericks with 21 coming in the second half. Bathie is the leading scorer for NSU, averaging 12 points an outing and 3.2 rebounds.

Anatoly Bose was the only Colonel in double figures in their Sam Houston State tilt, finishing with ten points off the bench. The freshman guard is averaging 8.6 points with 3.8 rebounds per game, the second-best mark on the team.

Texas State posts a .430 shooting percentage to Nicholls' .412 and dominates the rebound summary 43 - 30.4. In Southland Conference reports, Texas State leads in scoring offense (85.4), rebounding offense (43/game) and three-point field goals made (8.13/game), while Nicholls State only enters the top five mark in one category, peaking at No. 3 with three-point field goals per game, averaging 7.50.