NEW ORLEANS – Nijal Pearson had 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals and No. 4 Texas State defeated No. 12 seed Louisiana-Monroe 63-51 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament in New Orleans.
The Bobcats (19-12) will take on top-seeded UT Arlington, a 74-51 winner over Coastal Carolina earlier Friday, in a semifinal Saturday at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN3.
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Texas State and UTA split games this year with the Bobcats winning in San Marcos and UTA winning in Arlington.
The Bobcats were trailing by five before scoring the final 15 points of the first half to go into the break leading 30-20.
Texas State then scored the first 12 points of the second half to lead by 22 and the Warhawks didn't get any closer than the final score.
The Bobcats went on the 27-0 run despite Texas State all-conference forward Kavin Gilder-Tilbury playing only 12 minutes and scoring four points.
Ojai Black scored nine points for the Bobcats, who are enjoying their best season under head coach Danny Kaspar.