University Star

The Bobcats grabbed the St. Edward’s Hilltoppers by their horns for an 84-66 victory in Saturday’s exhibition game.

St. Edward’s snatched the ball at tipoff, but three Hilltoppers turnovers led the Bobcats to post a 7-0 lead. 

A pair of free throws by Cameron Johnson, senior forward, gave the Bobcats a double-digit lead, which they would hold for the remainder of the game.

Coach Doug Davalos was pleased the defense’s effort.

“The effort on defense was good,” Davalos said. “I think that this was a record for charges taken. When a team takes 10-plus charges, I wouldn’t say it was a bad defensive effort.”

The Bobcats’ defense caused the Hilltoppers to turnover the ball nine more times in the first half, giving Texas State a 37-24 lead going into halftime.

“Defensively, we were able to take them out of what they wanted to do,” Johnson said.

Johnson led the team with 15 points and five rebounds. Jonathan Sloan, senior forward, contributed 13 points and nine rebounds, and John Bowman, junior guard, added 11 points and seven rebounds.

St. Edward’s leading scorers, forwards Chris Wacker and Tylor Carr challenged the Bobcats. Wacker recorded 14 points and four rebounds. Carr posted 12 points and five rebounds.

Sloan said the exhibition game provided an opportunity for the Bobcats to figure out what areas need improvement going into the beginning of the season.

“I think after this first game, we got a lot of things figured out,” Sloan said. “People know their roles now. People know what they need to do. Now we see what we really need to work on during practice.”

Johnson said Texas State is prepared to face Sul Ross State Nov. 12 in its season opener.

“Offensively, we just got to get a little smarter with the basketball (against St. Edward’s),” Johnson said. “(We) had a lot of turnovers. They had a lot of second chances, and I think we correct those, and Sul Ross shouldn’t be a problem for us.”