The Redux -- R.J. Delic --

[VandyRedskins21]

Wow good job at snatching up a couple 3* recruits off the bat like that. Good luck with the season!

[K0ZZ]

I'm really hoping potential plays a big factor, they both are undersized and their skill set isn't great, but one has a B+ and the other a A+ potential.

I'm being somewhat gamey with going after the world recruit (to gain that extra skill point) but he does fill a need, so hopefully I grab him.

[K0ZZ]

Kazemi leads Owls past upset-minded Bobcats

Houston, Texas - It was going to happen eventually and in the first game that in over the next two weeks, the Bobcats face top Texas schools, it was the Bobcats who couldn't pull off the upset of the Rice Owls, falling in the final seconds 3-2. Both their loses this season have come on game winners with less than five seconds left. The Owls managed to contain Belford to 4 points until midway through the second half where he would catch fire and pull the teams together. Belford would finish with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.

Oddly enough, even without Belford, the Bobcats weren't having too much issues offensively. Luke Mergerson would put up 16 points on 6-11 from the field and 4-7 from beyond the three point line. Wesley Davis would add thirteen more off the bench, even more amazing was that the Bobcats kept this close without their second scoring option in Eddie Rios being shut out.

"There was an opportunity to pull off an upset all night, the Owls were basically handing us the game, when it mattered most though, they were the better team. We can't grind on that and move forward, were still holding a winning record, two losses isn't enough to start thinking about derailing our season" Delic was quoted as saying, Delic has been having a very successful first season at Texas State.

The Bobcats slip to 3-2, where-as the Rice Owls improved to 5-2 thanks in large part to the presence of Arsalan Kazemi, who absolutely tore apart the low post of the Bobcats. Kazemi would score 24 points on 11-19 shooting and pull in 20 boards, an absolutely amazing double-double. Kazemi has opened the season on fire, averaging 19.4 PPG and 14.3 RPG, no one has had an answer to stopping the junior, its starting to look as if no one will.

Rice Owls (5-2) 35 - 37 - 72
Texas State Bobcats (3-2) 32 - 37 - 69
Top Performers:
Scoring: Kazemi 24
Rebounds: Kazemi 20
Assists:T- Deron Belford (TSU) & Tamir Jackson (RICE) 6

[K0ZZ]

Belford leads Texas State in upset of Aggies with double double

It was one of those days where everything went right and just about everything went wrong for the opposition. Texas State nearly surrendered a three point lead at the end of the first half to lose yet another upset in the final seconds, after a late three by Middleton (who would finish with 26) put Texas A&M up by one. There was still ten seconds left and Deron Belford after a timeout and the ball at half court managed to drive the line and go up taking an attempt at basket, getting hit as he would go up (pictured) heading to the line.

Deron Belford despite being a freshman at a small school, the stadium screaming hoping to make the young point miss the free throws would hit both free throws with ease, putting Texas State up by one. Instead of using their last time out to set up a half court play, Texas A&M opted to go for a full court heave that obviously was missed.

Texas A&M falls to 1-5, a dismal season that was just further beaten down with their shortcoming against the Bobcats, where as the Bobcats improve to 4-2. "It's insane, to win on their court, those shots..I just cleared my mind..I didn't even hear the crowd..I zoned out" Spoke Belford who put up 21 with 13 assists, 7 rebounds and 4 steals to earn player of the game honors.

Khris Middleton stood at center court as the buzzer sounded in disbelief. The Junior small forward put up a season high 26 points on 10-21 shooting, Loubeau pulled in twelve boards alongside Roberson's 9, yet his team couldn't beat the lowly Texas State Bobcats. "I couldn't believe it, I stood there.. starting at that backboard.. when I walked out seeing the scoreboard..I couldn't...It's unbelievable.." Spoke a shocked Middleton.

The big challenge lies ahead for Texas State as they travel to Austin, Texas to take on the big program in the state, the Longhorns. The Longhorns at 3-5 are off to a bad start as well, losing games against North Texas, Rice and Texas Southern which will have a huge negative impact come March if they are on the bubble.

Texas State (4-2) 37 - 34 - 71
Texas A&M (1-5) 34 - 36 - 70
Top Performers:
Points: Middleton (TAMU) 26
Rebounds: Roberson (TAMU) 12
Assists: Belford (TST) 13

[K0ZZ]

Texas rallies back behind Jonathan Holmes unlikely 27

(Austin, Texas) - On a mild December night, the Bobcats traveled to Austin with one goal on their mind, upset. Throughout the first half that logic seemed to carry away as the Bobcats absolutely steam rolled through the Longhorns in the first half, yet things wouldn't continue that way for long. Freshman power forward Jonathan Holmes had a lot to say about that.

Holmes, coming off the bench, would score 20 of his 27 in the second half sparking a massive rally that turned a 7 point deficit into a 17 point victory. "I'm just happy to be out on that court man, my shots were falling I was getting down low and hitting the boards. Just proving I earned my spot on this roster" Said an out of breath Holmes.

Deron Belford had enough to say about the freshman's performance, with a personal 17 point, 10 rebound 9 assist performance that was again so close to a career first triple double. "These stats don't matter when your team can't win.." He said to a school journalist after the game. The Bobcats are on a somewhat rough stretch having gone 1-2 in the past two weeks, but their talent admittedly included a mid-major and two power conference squads and a win against a Big Twelve squad was huge.

Kevin Thomas, another back up freshman power forward out of Ottawa, Canada would have a pretty game off the bench with 14 points and 9 rebounds in another rare performance. Holmes has been averaging 18 Points a game this far, but Thomas who was drifting around 6, bumped his average up in a huge way.

The Longhorns improve to 4-5, while the Bobcats fall to 4-3. Texas State has a Kennesaw State squad that they have already beaten once this season up next. "You can't underestimate anyone, every game is 100% effort" Said Delic when a reporter brought up that the Bobcats had already picked up a W earlier this season against the Owls.

Texas State (4-3) 45 - 28 - 73
Texas (4-5) 37 - 53 - 90

Leaders:
Points: Holmes (TEXAS) 27
Rebounds: Belford (TSU) 10
Assists: T - Myck Kabongo (TEXAS) & Deron Belford (TSU) 9

[K0ZZ]

Redeemed: Owls beat Bobcats by 13

Memories of the 87-81 Bobcat win to finish third in the Kennesaw State hosted tournament were put to rest, after the Bobcats humiliated the Owls with a fourth place finish, it was their turn, taking out Texas State in San Marcos. Winning 63-50 largely by keeping the Bobcat offense in check. Belford was held to his lowest total of the whole season with only 4 points, managing twelve rebounds and five assists.

Eddie Rios would be shut out going 0-6 from the field with three attempts beyond the arc missing. No player aside from Matt Staff shot well, Staff finished 4-6 from the field with a missed three point attempt included.

There was no clearly dominant player for the Owls, it was a solid group effort that brought down the Bobcats, who were stymied especially when their best offensive weapon in Belford was held to 4 points the entire game. "It was a great defensive effort, you rarely see a guy playing as good as [Deron] Belford get held to a terrible night like that but we did it. We have that to be proud of" Spoke Tony Ingle, head coach of the Owls.

Kennesaw State (7-5) 35 - 28 - 63
Texas State (4-4) 23 - 27 - 50

Top Performers:
Points: Henry (KEN) 12
Rebounds: Cummings (KEN) 13
Assists: T- Markeith Cummings (KEN) & Deron Belford (TSU) 5

[K0ZZ]

Nyakundi puts up career bests as SMU escapes with W

Robert Nyankundi is a talented athlete but no one could've saw the onslaught of scoring he put on against the Bobcats as a possibility, at least one that could be considered realistic. Nyakundi put up a career best in points with 33 and added a career best 10 rebounds for a night that will go down in his memory as one of the greatest in his career.

The entire Bobcats team tried to stop him, their solid team performance only slightly stopped with their terrible performance at the power forward position, both offensively and defensively that made things very difficult for them to manage to come out on top.

Their lack of depth is clear and apparent, with a 35-25 lead at the end of the half, similar to their loss to Texas, they completely were blown out of the water in the second half, with the Mustangs going off for 44 points including a late shot by Nyakundi to give the go ahead lead. The Bobcats are on a season worst three game losing streak, with only one out of conference game remaining, they are hoping to right the ship before the conference schedule comes up.

Texas State (4-5) 35 - 32 - 67
SMU (6-4) 25 - 44 - 69

Top Performers:
Points: Nyakundi (SMU) 33
Rebounds: Belford (TSU) 11
Assists: Clinkscales (SMU) 6

[K0ZZ]

Texas State Bobcats
(4-5)(0-0)
January 1, 2008

Texas State Bobcats Stats - 2008
Player	GP	MIN	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	FPG
Deron Belford		23.7	17.2	8.4	7.3	2.9	1.0	2.8	2.0
Luke Mergerson		21.2	10.4	3.1	0.2	0.3	0.3	2.0	1.4
Corey Stern		20.9	8.6	4.3	0.9	0.6	0.1	1.3	1.4
Dante Bachus		20.6	7.2	5.2	0.6	0.7	0.9	1.1	1.6
Wesley Davis		16.7	7.1	1.1	0.3	0.4	0.1	0.6	1.0
Eddie Rios		21.1	5.6	0.6	4.1	1.4	0.2	1.8	1.3
Matt Staff		10.8	5.3	2.6	0.1	0.3	0.0	0.9	1.1
Travis Jones		15.5	3.8	0.3	0.5	0.7	0.2	1.2	1.2
John Bowman		12.9	3.2	1.9	0.6	0.7	0.0	1.1	1.6
Nic Hinton		4.0	2.0	0.8	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.5
Jordan Kirschke		2.9	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.1	0.3	0.1	0.4

Southland Conference Standings - Updated: Jan 1, 2008
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	GB
UT-Arlington	5-3	.625	0-0	0
McNeese State	5-5	.500	0-0	0
Texas State	4-5	.444	0-0	0
SE Louisiana	4-5	.444	0-0	0
Central Arkansas	3-5	.375	0-0	0
Stephen F. Austin	3-6	.333	0-0	0
UTSA	2-4	.333	0-0	0
Northwestern State	3-7	.300	0-0	0
Nicholls State	4-10	.285	0-0	0
Lamar	2-6	.250	0-0	0
TXAM-CC	1-10	.090	0-0	0
Sam Houston State	0-8	.000	0-0	0

Team Analysis:
Texas State is the most efficient offense in the Southland conference earning an A- rating from analysts. The issue lies in their C- rating in defensive efficiency that results in a lot of back and fourth fast pace games. The Bobcats do specialize in a fast paced offense but the issue lies more-so in that when the opposition pushes a break, their bigs aren't athletic or tall enough to make plays and usually means easy transition baskets. Their perimeter defense also needs to get brushed up on.

All in all, this team at 4-5 has a probably win against Pan American before an inconference schedule that should give freshman Deron Belford a good chance at earning conference freshman of the year accolades.