Troy University Athletics
Troy University
17-9,9-4Sun Belt
Texas State
16-11,8-6Sun Belt
Troy Falls to Hot-Shooting Texas State
2/11/2026 10:37:00 PM | Basketball (M)
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Troy men's basketball suffered a setback on Wednesday night, falling to Texas State, 74-62.
The Trojans, who never led, fell into an early deficit and could not crawl back, making just 17 field goals on the night.
Troy (17-9, 9-4) was led by 22 points from Victor Valdes, who got to the free throw line 16 times and made 12.
Texas State (16-11, 8-6) shot 59.6% (28-for-47) from the field and scored 32 points in the paint. The Bobcats made just two 3-pointers and attempted nine. DJ Hall paced Texas State, scoring 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
Texas State opened the scoring with made baskets by Hall and Kaden Gumbs.
Theo Seng got the Trojans on the board with a 3-point basket their fourth possession of the game. Seng made four threes in the first half and went to the locker room with a game-high 12 points.
The Bobcats used a 6-0 scoring run to take a 16-8 lead with 12:54 minutes left in the half. Seng's third three of the half halted the run.
Kyndall Davis knocked down one of just the two Texas State threes in the period at the 8:07 mark to make the score 25-18. The Bobcats did not need to rely on the 3-point shot however, as they shot 63% (15-for-24) in the frame.
Troy scored five-straight points as halftime drew closer, as Thomas Dowd nailed his first triple of the game and Victor Valdes knocked down two free throws.
The teams entered the locker rooms with Texas State leading, 36-29.
Seng added two free throws to get Troy going in the second half.
The Trojans struggled, however, offensively, missing its first four shots out of the locker room. A driving layup from Valdes halted the dry spell and cut the Texas State lead to nine.
Troy continued to fight despite Texas State continuting to knock down shots at a high rate, as the Trojans took a quick timeout after Cooper Campbell drilled his first three of the night, making the score 56-44 Bobcats with 10:39 to play.
Troy fell into a cold spell shortly after, going without a field goal for over three minutes, which was broke by a Valdes mid-range jumper.
Cooper Campbell converted on a corner three to cut the lead to single digits for the first time in just under 13 minutes of game time and made the score 67-58 Texas State with 4:08 to play.
However, the Texas State defense got stops and the Bobcats scored seven of the final 11 points to win comfortably, 74-62.
Quotable – Head Coach Scott Cross
"Texas State was a more physical, tougher team than us tonight. Mentally, it didn't seem like we were ready to play. It wasn't our night, and I think the crowd definetely affected our guys. We didn't shoot the ball well, but they shot nearly 60% from the field. If you don't play better defense than that, you don't have a chance. We have to regroup. I like our group, and I think we'll be better in the next one.
Notables
- Victor Valdes made 12 free throws on Wednesday night (12-for-16), his third game this season making 10-plus from the charity stripe.
- Theo Seng set a career high with four 3-pointers made, all of which came in the first half.
- Troy finished with nine assists as a team – just the second time this season the Trojans have been held under 10.
- Troy is now 10-13 all-time against Texas State.
Up Next
Troy remains on the road, heading to Mississippi for a matchup with Southern Miss on Saturday night. The 7 p.m. tip can be streamed on ESPN+ and heard on the Troy Sports Media Network.
