BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The Tarleton Texans advanced to the second round of the Lone Star Conference Championship Tournament in Bartlesville, Okla. to face West Texas A&M at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 5 in Bruin Field House.
Tarleton (22-6) moved passed the first round with an 83-76 overtime victory against Texas A&M-Commerce on Wednesday.
The Texans have taken two wins from the Buffaloes this season, downing their next opponent 69-56 in Canyon on Jan. 23 before winning at home 56-52 on Feb. 13. The win in Canyon gave Tarleton head coach Lonn Reisman his 450th victory at Tarleton.
This season, Tarleton is led by Devon Hills with 13.4 points per game while Effran Bryant (11.9), Corin Henry (11.2) and Jeremiah Wilson (10.6) are all averaging in double digits. Wilson leads the squad with 8.3 rebounds per contest and 46 blocks while Donta Smith is second in rebounding with 6.8 boards per game. Smith is averaging 8.0 points per outing.
The Texans are averaging .439 from the floor, .354 from the three-point arc and .665 from the charity stripe while holding opponents to .376 from the field, .318 from the arc and .659 from the line. Tarleton is outrebounding opponents 37.9 to 32.7 while outscoring them 71.4 to 58.2.
West Texas A&M is 16-12 after defeating Central Oklahoma 80-79 in the first round of the conference tournament on Wednesday. The Buffs were the fourth seed in the South Division while the Bronchos were the first seed in the North.
WTAMU is led by Joe Mincey with 12.6 points per game while Nick Burns (12.5), LaDarius Hall (11.5) and Bijan Dotson (10.4) are also scoring in double figures. Dotson leads the team with 5.9 rebounds per outing while Jacquiese Holcombe is second with 5.1 boards per game.
The Buffs are averaging .438 from the field, .310 from the arc and .695 from the line while opponents are shooting .435 from the floor, .329 from the arc and .685 from the stripe. WTAMU is outscoring foes 72.8 to 70.1 and outrebounding them 37.5 to 32.6.
WTAMU leads the all-time series, 20-13. Tarleton has taken the last three contests, and the two teams are 0-2 on a neutral floor with the Buffs winning 69-61 in Portales, N.M. (3/8/03) in the conference tournament final. The Buffs also won in Durant, Okla. (3/4/06)in the tournament championship, 92-85.
A win would put the Texans in their sixth championship tournament final since the 2002 season. Tarleton will be looking for their second tournament title if it can get past WTAMU on Friday. The winner of the game will face the winner of the Midwestern State/Northeastern State game at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 6.
The game will be broadcast on KSTV 93.1 FM. Fans can watch the game LIVE on the LSC Tournament web site. Fans can also watch live stats there as well.
