MONROE, La. – Nijal Pearson scored 23 points, including a game-winning free throw, and Texas State came from behind to beat UL Monroe 64-63 on Thursday night to win its third straight.
Pearson also became the all-time leading scorer for Texas State.
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He entered the game needing just nine points to pass former Bobcat legend Charles Sharp (1956-60) and he picked up all nine of those points in the first half, ending the first 20 minutes with 1,885 career-points.
Pearson added 14 more points in the second half as the Bobcats rallied from a 10-point deficit to improve to 4-4 in Sunbelt Conference play and 11-8 overall.
(1/3) #TXST guard Nijal Pearson (@NijalUno) on what it means to be the new all-time scoring leader for @TXStateMBB: "This means everything to me. It is big time. To see where I came from to where I am now is an amazing journey... pic.twitter.com/ILwDxLhb63
— RJ Marquez (@KSATRJ) January 17, 2020
Chris Efretuei’s free throw put the Warhawks up 63-60 with 1:14 to play, but Pearson tied it with a 3-pointer then scored the winning free throw with 10 seconds left. Isiah Small blocked JD Williams’layup attempt at the buzzer to seal it.
Alonzo Sule scored 10 points for the Bobcats who trailed 33-25 at halftime.
Mason Harrell, the Bobcats' second-leading scorer entering the matchup at 10 points per game, shot only 20% (1 of 5), but made five assists.
Texas State plays Louisiana-Lafayette on the road on Saturday.
