Box Score STEPHENVILLE – Chuck Guy (G, Jr, Fort Worth) scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out six assists while guiding the No. 17 Tarleton Texans to a 72-62 win over East Central in the final game of the 2012 Taco Bell Texan Tip-off Classic at Wisdom Gym on Saturday night.
 
Guy went 4-for-8 from the field and went to the foul line a combined 18 times tonight, making 13 of his attempts from the charity stripe. Guy's 21 points are a season-high for any Texan player so far this year and it was the most points scored by any player in the two-day tournament. Following Saturday's game, Guy earned Tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
 
The Texans (2-1) managed to beat the Tigers (2-1) in almost every statistical category Saturday evening. ECU scored three more field goals (23-20) than the Texans, but Tarleton went to the foul line 44 times compared to ECU's 17 trips. The Texans scored 27 of its 72 points from the charity stripe, while ECU managed to score just 10 points from the line.
 
The Texans shot 55.0 percent from the field in the first half on the way to a 14-point lead over the Tigers, up 38-34 at the break.
 
Tarleton went to the foul line 19 times in the first 20 minutes of play, converting 73.7 percent (14-of-19) from the charity stripe. Tarleton forced 11 turnovers in the first half as well, scoring 12 points off the Tiger miscues. ECU out-rebounded the Texans 14-13 in the first half and scored nine second-chance points.
 
The Tigers did not have an answer for Guy in the first period of play, allowing the junior out of Fort Worth to score 13 points after going 2-for-5 from the field and 9-for-11 from the free throw line. Guy worked the offense for the Texans and led all players at the break with four assists.
 
The Tigers opened the game with a 5-0 run following a three-pointer from Chris Fisher at the 18:42 mark, but Brain Word (G, Sr, Baltimore, Md.) knocked down a trey of this own at the 17:15 mark to tie the game at 5-5.
 
The Tigers would go up by no more than two points on two occasions following that, but the Texans retook the lead at the 14:18 mark on a pair of free throws from Guy and never looked back.
 
Up 13-12 with 10:35 remaining, Tarleton went on a 7-0 run and later led 20-12 on a free throw shot from Damion Clemons (F, So, Dallas) at the 9:21 mark. Guy would later push Tarleton's lead to nine points to go up 25-16 with a free throw from Guy with less than six minutes to play.
 
A pair of free throws from Guy with 4:16 left in the half led to a 13-8 run for Tarleton as they closed out the first period en route to the 14-point lead.
 
At one point in the first half, Tarleton held ECU without a field goal from the 8:17 mark to the 4:06 mark while outscoring the Tigers 7-2 during the span.
 
Tarleton scored the first three points of the second half to push its lead to 17 points and later managed to lead by as many as 19 points with a little over 10 minutes still left to play. Coleman Furst (G, Jr, Denison) knocked down a three-pointer with 3:41 left to put Tarleton up by 20 points, 69-49.
 
ECU battled until the final horn sounded, but foul trouble eventually outdid the Tigers as three ECU players fouled out of Saturday's game.
 
Along with Guy's 21 points, Furst added 14 points for the Texans and Davene Carter (F, So, Duncanville) scored a career-high 13 points as he went a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. The sophomore forward pulled down a team and game-high eight rebounds as well.
 
Clemons, who finished the night with 10 points, tallied a career-high three blocks on defense as the Texans finished the night with six blocks overall.
 
The Texans shot 48.8 percent from the field, which also included a 45.5 percent effort from beyond the arc.
 
Tarleton scored 15 points off 16 Tiger turnovers and poured in 13 second chance points on the night.
 
The Texans will have the entire week off before returning to action next Saturday, Nov. 24 against Dallas Christian. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Wisdom Gym following the TexAnns' non-conference game.