Friday spurs Abilene Christian to 72-68 win over Texas State

ABILENE, Texas -- Jalone Friday was on the mark Saturday, scoring 22 points and adding a career-best five blocked shots to lead Abilene Christian to a 72-68 victory over Texas State.

Friday knocked down 9 of 16 shots from the floor and added six rebounds for the Wildcats (7-3), who beat the Bobcats (5-5) for the first time since 1982 in picking up their fourth straight win. Texas State leads the all-time series 40-18.

Immanuel King hit 7 of 10 shots and scored 15 with 11 rebounds for Texas State. Nedeljko Prijovic added 13 points and five rebounds off the bench for the Bobcats, while Nijal Pearson and Tyler Blount each scored 11.

Texas State led 34-22 with 3:04 left in the first half, but Drake Green's 3-pointer keyed a 5-1 run and Abilene Christian trailed 35-27 at intermission.

Pearson's 3-pointer to open the second half pushed the lead to 38-27, but Friday buried jumpers to bookend a 23-10 run that included back-to-back 3-pointers by Tevin Foster and the Wildcats led 50-48 with 11:49 left to play. The lead changed hands several times down the stretch, but after Prijovic's 3-pointer pulled the Bobcats within 69-68 with 59 seconds left, Foster made a layup and 1 of 2 free throws to preserve the win.