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STEPHENVILLE – The Tarleton Texans watched a 12-point lead dissipate on Tuesday night in the first Lone Star Conference crossover game of the season as the Texans lost to Central Oklahoma, 76-72.
The Texans led 52-40 with 14:21 left in the second half as the Bronchos outscored the home team 36-20 through the remainder of the contest.
“It was a good game, and our young kids are still learning how to play,” said Tarleton head coach Lonn Reisman. “We have to continue to go to practice and keep working hard. When you are up 12, you have to know how to put the game away.”
Tarleton shot just 33.3 percent in the second half compared to UCO's 50 percent. Tarleton also led by five with 8:43 and by two with 6:39 remaining.
“Central Oklahoma is a very solid basketball team,” Reisman said. “We missed some really easy chip shots tonight that killed us. We just have to get work and practice and get ready for Thursday because it doesn't get any easier.
Tarleton jumped out to a 4-0 lead with two free throws by Donta Smith and a jumper by Wale Ogunoye. Tarleton stretched its lead to six (14-8) with 14:26 on the clock when Ogunoye scored again from the paint. UCO's Blake Livingston got a fastbreak dunk for the visitors to make it 14-10 with 11:40 on the clock before Chris Harrell had back-to-back threes, one on each side of a Dauntae Williams layup for the Bronchos. Tarleton led 20-12 with 10:28 on the clock.
The Bronchos cut the lead to five again, before another three by Harrell put the Texans up 23-15 with 9:25 remaining in the first half. Tarleton was then outscored 19-6 in the final 8:26 of the half as the Bronchos took a 34-33 lead into the break. During the run, Tarleton went almost three minutes without a field goal. Tarleton hit a bucket at 6:43 when Jeremiah Wilson had a jumper to end the drought.
The Texans retook the lead with 3:47 on the clock when Wilson hit another jumper to make it 29-28, but Livingston and Eric Cazenave had back-to-back buckets for UCO. Keith Marks then hit two free throws for the visitors to stretch the lead to five (34-29) with 1:52 on the clock. Smith had a layup for the Texans before hitting two free throws with two seconds on the clock to give the game its halftime score.
The two teams traded baskets to open the second session before an Effran Bryant three at 18:19 gave the Texans a 38-37 advantage. Corin Henry then hit a three at 17:31 to give Tarleton a four-point lead before Bryant connected on two free throws at 16:23 to make it 43-37. UCO coach Terry Evans was then called for a technical foul with just under 16 minutes left and Henry hit one of the two bonus shots.
On the following offensive possession, Bryant sank a three to increase the lead to 10. Shane Carroll hit a free throw for the visitors on the other end before Jeremiah Wilson hit a three form the top of the key for Tarleton to push the lead to 12, 50-38.
The Bronchos then cut the lead to 53-46 with 11:46 on the clock with an 8-3 run. Cazenave then hit a three with 11:17 to make a four-point deficit for the visitors. UCO cut the lead to one (54-53) with 9:33 on the clock when Williams had a layup after a Cazenave steal. However, Tarleton's Henry hit a three from the top of the key with 9:19 remaining to increase the lead to four. Thirty-six seconds later, Smith had a free throw to make it 58-53 Tarleton.
UCO then scored five straight, including three free throws by Cazenave as he was fouled shooting from behind the arc. The score was tied at 58 with 6:39 left in the contest. Both teams traded buckets for the next few minutes before Williams had an old-fashioned three-point play. However, Tarleton's Devon Hills did the same on the opposite end to make it 68-68 with 2:23 on the clock.
Chris Ryhmes had a tip-in for the Bronchos with 1:44 on the clock to give his team a two-point advantage before Wilson was fouled at 1:35. He hit one of two bonus shots to cut the lead to one. Tarleton got a block on the opposite end before Hills was called with an offensive foul. Rhymes had two free throws with 49 seconds left to increase the lead to three.
Henry was fouled with 43.78 seconds left, and the Texan junior missed both free throws. Tarleton fouled Williams with 25.6 ticks left, and the Broncho hit the backend of the two-shot foul. With 11.06 seconds left, Hills nailed a three to cut the lead to one. Harrell fouled Rhymes to stop the clock with 9.48 seconds remaining, and the Broncho hit the first and missed the second. Tarleton got the rebound, but Henry's pocket was picked by Livingston on the opposite end. Tarleton fouled Rhymes to stop the clock, and he hit both bonus shots to give the visitors a 76-72 victory.
The Texans were led by Henry with 14 and Bryant with 13. Wilson had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to help the Texans.
Tarleton averaged .371 from the floor (23-62), .458 from the arc (11-24) and .600 from the charity stripe (15-25).
The Bronchos were led by Cazenave with 19 points while Williams (15), Carroll 913) and Livingston (11) each had double digit outings as well. Williams led the squad with eight boards.
Tarleton was outscored in the paint 30-18 and 33-22 off the bench. The Texans were also outrebounded 39-37.
The purple and white will return to action on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. when it hosts Northeastern State in Wisdom Gym. Thursday is Toys for Tots night where fans will get one free admission per new, unwrapped toy brought to the gym.
