Pearson, Small double up as Texas St. downs Appalachian St.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Isiah Small and Nijal Pearson scored 23 points apiece as Texas State beat Appalachian State 85-68 in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday night.

The 23 points were a season high for Small, who hit 9 of 11 shots with nine rebounds. Eric Terry scored 12 points for the Bobcats (21-11) and Quentin Scott scored 10.

Texas State entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed and advanced to play second-seeded South Alabama on Saturday.

Justin Forrest scored 21 points for the Mountaineers (18-15), Kendall Lewis scored 13 and O’Showen Williams scored 11 with six rebounds.