GAME NOTES: In a battle of Lone Star State rivals, the Texas State Bobcats collide with the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners.

Texas State will be out to build upon a solid 2-0 start. The Bobcats squeezed out victories against Seattle (62-53) and Lamar (65-55) in their first two games of the season, with the victory over Seattle coming on the road. They will host their next three games, beginning against Division III Howard Payne.

This will be the third leg of a five-game homestand to start the season for UTSA. The first two tests of the campaign featured very different results, as the Roadrunners easily got past Huston-Tillotson (92-74) in the opener, but then dropped a 63-62 decision to Texas Pan American. Battles with Loyola- Chicago and Southern Utah will finish off the homestand.

These teams used to share conference ties, battling it out in the Southland for 21 years and in the Western Athletic Conference during the 2012-13 season. That campaign featured the last meetings between them, as the teams split the season series. Texas State holds a slim 33-32 edge all-time.

Texas State stifled Lamar in the first half and then held on in the second to post a 10-point victory. The Bobcats limited the Cardinals to just seven field goals on 35 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes, while sinking an even 50 percent of their shots from the floor overall. JaMarcus Weatherspoon finished with a game-high 19 points to pace the winning side, while Emani Gant added 13 rebounds to his 14 points.

Obviously, defense has been the key for the Bobcats in the first two games, as they are only scoring 63.5 points per contest. However, they have kept the opposition to 41.5 percent shooting to maintain leads. Gant is having himself a strong start to the season, providing plenty of production across the board. He has netted 31 total points, to go with 16 rebounds, six assists, seven steals and even three blocks. Weatherspoon (13 ppg), Wes Davis (11 ppg) and D.J. Brown (10 ppg) are all averaging in double figures as well.

There were nine ties and 11 lead changes in UTSA's matchup with Texas Pan American. Unfortunately, the last time the lead changed hands the Broncs were on top. UTSA did not help itself by shooting just 30.7 percent from the floor. However, it managed to remain competitive by forcing 18 turnovers, while coughing the ball up only eight times itself.

Ryan Bowie scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds in the losing effort, while Jeromie Hill netted 16 points to go with 10 boards. Keon Lewis had a rough outing, finishing with just 10 points on a miserable 3-of-17 shooting performance. He also made just 3-of-7 attempts at the free-throw line, although he did hand out four assists. Lewis has shown no fear this season and that can lead to positive results, as he netted 28 points in the team's opener. Hill (15 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and Larry Lewis Jr. (14.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg) have not shown such explosive scoring ability, but they have been solid in the area, as well as on the boards.

If Texas State is going to move to 3-0 it needs to shut down Lewis like Texas Pan American did. It won't be easy, especially if Hill and Lewis step up and take some of the pressure off.