Texas State beats Appalachian St. 67-58 to open conference (Dec 31, 2016)
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) Kavin Gilder-Tilbury hit 7 of 9 from the floor for 21 points to lead Texas State to a 67-58 win over Appalachian State on Saturday to open Sun Belt Conference play for both teams.
Gilder-Tilbury, who broke the 1,000 career-points barrier, now has 1,019 points. Nijal Pearson added 11 points and Ojai Black chipped in 10 while dishing out five assists for the Bobcats (8-5, 1-0).
Texas State made 25 of 51 field goal attempts while limiting the Mountaineers to 22-of-56 shooting.
The Bobcats jumped out to an early lead and were ahead 35-19 at the break. Appalachian State closed to 50-48 at the 8:11 mark but Immanuel King drove for a layup as Texas State finished the game on a 17-10 run.
Ronshad Shabazz hit 7 of 18 field goal attempts for 19 points and Griffin Kinney added 13 while grabbing 11 rebounds for the Mountaineers (5-7, 0-1).
