College Basketball: Updated SLC standings

Here are the current standings in the SLC on the men's side (Top 8 only):

1. Sam Houston State 10-0

2. Stephen F. Austin 8-3

3. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 7-3

4. Southeastern Louisiana 6-4

5. Texas State 6-5

6. UT-Arlington 5-5

7. Lamar 5-5

8. UTSA 4-6

Here are the current standings in the SLC on the women's side (Top 8 only...and Texas State):

1. Lamar 9-1

2. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 8-2

3. Stephen F. Austin 8-3

4. UTSA 7-3

5. UT-Arlington 6-4

6. Northwestern State 5-5

7. Southeastern Louisiana 4-6

8. Sam Houston State 3-7

9. McNeese State 2-8

10. Texas State 1-10

OT: Big night in local high school hoops action

• In case you're a fan of high school basketball, there are two huge games tonight around the area — Del Valle at San Marcos and Hays at Lehman.
• San Marcos is looking to improve its seeding in the UIL Class 4A state playoffs and can do it tonight with a win vs. Del Valle. The Rattlers are currently third in District 17-4A, but with a win against the Cardinals and a Manor loss to Elgin, San Marcos would earn the No. 2 seed.
• On the other hand, Hays has its own playoff hopes hinging on the Elgin vs. Manor game as well.
• If the Rebels beat Lehman in their intra-country rivalry game, they will improve to 5-7 in District 17-4A. Should Elgin lose to Manor, the Wildcats fall to 5-7, which would force a one-game playoff for the fourth and final seed.

College Basketball: Recapping Saturday's 81-67 win vs Lamar

Texas State cruised to an easy 14-point win Saturday afternoon against Lamar at Strahan Coliseum. The Bobcats opened up a 25-point lead in the second half and were never tested by the Cardinals.

Cameron Johnson led Texas State with 19 points, while Ryan White chipped in 16. Tony Bishop and John Bowman also scored in double figures for the Bobcats.

Texas State scored 56 points in the second half after being held to 25 in the first 20 minutes. The Bobcats didn't help their own cause at all, as they shot 27 percent in the first half.

Player of the Game: I have to give the award to White for his 16-point, three-assist and two-rebound performance. White rolled his ankle six minutes into the game, but played the entire second half. He created separation with his speed and helped run a flawless transition offense.

Trend of the Game: Texas State scored 22 fast-break points against the Cardinals. Whenever Lamar turned the ball over, it seemed as if four Bobcats were behind the the last defender, ready to receive a pass.

Play of the Game: This goes to Tony Bishop for his baptism of Cardinals forward Coy Custer. Bishop posterized Custer in the second half when he tried to block his dunk.

Quotables

Texas State head coach Doug Davalos on his team's transition offense: "We probably work on our transition offense more than anybody in the league. It's hard to run when you're always taking the ball out of the net and having to throw the in-bound pass. But if you're making shots, forcing turnovers and limiting second shots, then you can run on them."

Davalos on his team's defensive effort on Lamar guard Anthony Miles: "Every time he went by one guy, there was another guy waiting for him. If he broke a trap, there's another guy waiting in line for him."

Davalos on White's performance: "It would have been a different game if Ryan hadn't been able to go in the second half."

Texas State forward Tony Bishop on his dunk: "I knew I was going to finish the play, so it was either going to be a foul or a poster. It felt pretty good once the crowd got into it, especially because we were winning."

Lamar head coach Steve Roccaforte on what happened during the game: "They kicked our [butt]. You can bleep that out if you want or not, but they kicked our [butt] twice this season. They must be the better team."

College Basketball: Quotables from Thursday's practice

Texas State head coach Doug Davalos

On the importance of a team video session: "Guys have to see that they missed a block out, I watched. I didn’t finish a play. I didn’t go up with two hands. It needs to be an accountability that they can do better next time. In this day and age, if guys don’t feel that they can think ‘Oh, he’s not talking to me,’ they need to see themselves. If not, they think you are talking to the other guys."

On what happened in the last three games (Bobcats are 1-2): "I don’t think teams are playing harder than us right now, they’re just executing better than us. Executing involves rebounding. It’s not just Xs and Os with executing, it’s rebounding, blocking out, feeding the post at the right angle. Those are things that are execution plays that we have to do better."


Texas State forward Cameron Johnson

On why his numbers go up in conference play: "For me, personally, it’s just knowing that it’s one less conference season than I’ll have in my career. It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose in those preseason games because they won’t count toward the conference tournament. These games mean a lot more as they get fewer and fewer."

On the importance of these last six games: "These games are huge because our records are so close at this point in time. The smallest separation we can get between ourselves and the next teams is key."

College Basketball: Recapping Wednesday's 72-59 loss to A&M-Corpus Christi

So close, yet so far.

That's how Texas State has to be looking at Wednesday night's game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Bobcats can't seem to put it together and fell 72-59 to the Islanders at Strahan Coliseum.

Texas State was 20 minutes from posting a victory against one of the top teams in the Southland Conference, but then everything fell apart. The Bobcats couldn't keep their hands to themselves and put A&M-Corpus Christi to the free-throw line 26 times in the second half.

The Islanders turned a two-point halftime deficit into a six-point lead in the second half with eight minutes remaining and didn't let up.


Player of the Game: The coveted award goes to Texas State freshman guard Diamond Ford. She was the only Bobcats player attacking the basket and forcing the issue. Ford went to the free-throw line 14 times (making 11 of the attempts) and knocked down five other shots. She finished with a game-high 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Trend of the Game: Foul trouble. The Bobcats just couldn't defend A&M-Corpus Christi without fouling. Texas State picked up 19 fouls in the second half and put the Islanders to the line 26 times. To A&M-Corpus Christi's credit, the team used the entire floor to its advantage and spread the Bobcats' defense thin.


Quotables

Texas State head coach Suzanne Fox on what led to the loss: "We just stalled down the stretch. It hurt us in the second half because they got to the bonus so early. They’re driving at us, we’re not moving our feet and we’re getting hand-check calls."

Fox on Ford: "Diamond was extremely aggressive for us tonight. Our other players need to be able to read and recognize what will and will not be called and take advantage of it."

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi head coach Rob Robinson on his team's game plan: "We knew that if we could spread the floor out, they would have a hard time guarding us without fouling."

College Basketball: Where do the Bobcats stand?

Texas State men

• Davalos' bunch is currently 5-4 in the Southland Conference and 11-12 overall.
• If the SLC tournament began today, the Bobcats would earn the fifth seed and play Southeastern Louisiana in the opening round.
• Texas State travels to play Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (12-10, 6-2 SLC) tonight. The Bobcats fell at home to the Islanders on Jan. 13.
• After dueling with A&M-CC, Texas State returns home to face Lamar and then hits the road to battle Nicholls State.

Texas State women

• Fox's bunch is currently 1-8 in the SLC and 5-15 overall.
• If the SLC tournament began today, the Bobcats would miss postseason play for the second consecutive season.
• Texas State hosts A&M-CC (14-7, 6-2 SLC) tonight at 7 p.m. inside Strahan Coliseum. The Bobcats and Islanders played earlier this season, with Texas State taking a 78-72 loss.
• The Bobcats won't get a reprieve after this game, since they travel to Lamar this weekend, but then get Nicholls State at home next Wednesday.
  

College Basketball: McNeese State at Texas State LIVE BLOG (2/6/10)

Player of the Game: It was between Cameron Johnson and Tony Bishop, but Johnson gets it because he's been playing out of his mind recently. Johnson scored 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Texas State's 95-88 win.