{"id":539105,"date":"2026-01-15T20:43:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/539105\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T20:43:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:43:14","slug":"texas-state-basketball-holds-nerves-in-win-over-louisiana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/539105\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas State basketball holds nerves in win over Louisiana"},"content":{"rendered":"

The teams combined for 97 total shots, the fewest in Texas State\u2019s\u00a0season thus far. Despite guard Mark Drone\u2019s absence, DJ Hall<\/a> continued his phenomenal freshman season, recording his sixth double-double\u00a0with 16 points and 14 rebounds.<\/p>\n

Here are some takeaways from Texas State\u2019s win.<\/p>\n

Drone is Texas State\u2019s leading scorer, and his absence put a heavy offensive load on Gumbs’ back. However, the guard has found his shot after struggling early, and he didn\u2019t disappoint against Louisiana.<\/p>\n

Gumbs scored nine points on 4-for-6 shooting in the first half and went 4-for-5 in the second, which included a rare 3-pointer. He was active on defense, earned quick buckets in transition and still kept the ball moving despite finishing with only one assist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Texas State head coach Terrence Johnson has praised Gumbs in the past as a team player and a traditional point guard. Against Louisiana, however, the veteran showed off what he\u2019s capable of when he\u2019s given a little more responsibility.<\/p>\n

Although Texas State led 29-22 at halftime, things changed quickly. The Ragin’ Cajuns went on a 15-7 scoring run, taking a 37-36 lead. But Texas State remained calm. A jumper by Jaylen Bolden, a layup from Gumbs, a 3-pointer from Franck Emmou and another Hall bucket saw the Bobcats regain a 49-39 lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even when Louisiana guard Milan Meijan made it a three-point game with 1 minute and 7 seconds left, Johnson\u2019s team didn\u2019t panic. Gumbs made it a two-possession game with a free throw, and Robert Fields sealed the game with a dunk following a turnover. Compared to the recent crunch time losses to Arkansas State and Southern Miss, Texas State played with more composure against Louisiana.<\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t much more to say about Hall, who has quickly become Texas State\u2019s best all-around player. Sun Belt teams know Texas State prefers to work in the paint \u2014 yet they can’t seem to stop the freshman’s combination of clever footwork and touch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fields, the other forward freshman, however, is slowly becoming a pivotal part of Texas State’s rotation as well. His 6-foot-9, 220-pound frame is a deterrent to would-be lane invaders and the avoidance was clear against Louisiana. Fields recorded seven points, five rebounds and one block.<\/p>\n

Tay Knox started at center for the Bobcats, but Fields finished the game. With center Makai Willis playing only five minutes against Louisiana, Fields’ growth will be crucial for Texas State’s success down the stretch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The teams combined for 97 total shots, the fewest in Texas State\u2019s\u00a0season thus far. Despite guard Mark Drone\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539106,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3723],"tags":[7,217,37588,231,772,5187,1544,25827,71313,38196],"class_list":["post-539105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-basketball","tag-basketball","tag-college-basketball","tag-men-s-college-basketball","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-basketball","tag-ncaa-division-i","tag-ncaab","tag-texas-state-bobcats","tag-texas-state-bobcats-basketball","tag-texas-state-university"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115901065145307493","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}