Pearson leads Texas State into Sun Belt semifinals (Mar 10, 2017)

By AP
Published

NEW ORLEANS (AP) 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.

The Bobcats (19-12) will take on top-seeded UT Arlington, a 74-51 winner over Coastal Carolina earlier Friday, in a semifinal on Saturday.

Travis Munnings scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Marcus Washington scored 15 points for the Warhawks (9-24), who upset No. 5 seed Arkansas State in the first round. ULM shot 36 percent, 12 percent less than Texas State, and made just 5 of 26 from the arc.

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.