CONWAY, S.C. -- Nijal Pearson scored 15 points, Tyler Blount had 14 and Texas State defeated Coastal Carolina 53-48 on Sunday.

The Bobcats (8-7, 1-1 Sun Belt) had a 14-point lead late in the first half before missing 14 of 15 shots during a 12-minute span of the second half allowing Coastal Carolina (7-8, 1-1) to tie, the final time with three minutes left on two Zac Cuthbertson free throws.

Pearson made two free throws and Prijovic added a jumper to restore a four-point lead with two minutes left. From there, Cuthbertson missed 5 of 6 free throws, the final one intentionally with four seconds left and the Chanticleers trailing by three, and Coastal Carolina made only 1 of 4 field-goal attempts while the Bobcats did enough to escape.

Cuthbertson, who made 9 of 10 from the line before his late-game misses, finished with 19 points. He had Coastal Carolina's only 3-pointer with the Chanticleers missing 16 times. Demario Beck added 15.