BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Despite outscoring No. 6 Midwestern State 20-10 in the final six minutes of the Lone Star Conference Championship Tournament final, the Tarleton Texans couldn't overcome their halftime deficit and fell 65-55 in title bout in Bartlesville, Okla.

The Texans led 16-14 with 6:44 left in the first half, but the Mustangs went on an 18-4 run to close the first 20 minutes and tally a deficit Tarleton just couldn't overcome despite a strong effort in the second half.

“I am proud of the way our guys fought back tonight,” said Tarleton head coach Lonn Reisman.  “We got away from our gameplan in the last eight minutes of the first half, and that was a critical part of this game.  We did not execute offensively, and we got out of sync defensively.”

The Texans reached their sixth LSC tournament final, but being outrebounded 37-22 and a bad performance on the offensive end of the floor contributed to the loss.

“We have a lot of respect for Midwestern State,” Reisman said. “We had three battles with them this year, and unfortunately, we came out on the bottom end of each of them.”

The Texans shot just 37.2 percent from the floor Saturday, including a 23.5 percent mark from the three-point arc (4-17).

“I thought the key tonight is what we did on the defensive side of the floor tonight,” said MSU head coach Grant McCasland. 

The game started with Charlie Logan and Jeremiah Wilson hitting buckets before Anthony Moore had a putback and a three to put the Mustangs on top 7-2 with 17:57 on the clock.  Henry then hit back-to-back threes to put the Texans on top with 15:03 remaining in the first period.  A Rashad Austin layup returned the lead for MSU before Wilson and Wale Ogunoye had two free throws to make it 12-9 with 9:02 remaining in the half.

After a Chris Hagan free throw, Donta Smith had a layup to make it 14-10 with 8:04 on the clock prior to two free throws by Moore and a layup by Charlie Logan to make it 14-14 a minute later.  Devon Hills had a layup at 6:44 to put the Texans ahead 16-14, but the Mustangs used an 18-4 run to close the half with a 32-20 advantage. 

The only points during MSU's run by the Texans was a free throw by Smith and Effran Bryant followed by a layup by Smith.  Tarleton scored just six points in the last eight minutes of the first 20 minutes. 

Wilson started the second half with a dunk before a Hagan three.  The two teams traded points before Jason Ebie hit a three at 13:11 to make it 45-27.  Wilson then had two more free throws followed by two form Henry to cut the lead to 14.  Green then had a three and a free throw to make it 50-31 before Henry had two free throws and a steal that led to an assist to Hills for a fastbreak layup.  With the Texans trailing 50-35 with 8:40 on the clock, Moore had a three before a Logan dunk made it a 20-point game (55-35) with 7:27 remaining in the contest.

Tarleton started its 20-10 run to finish the game when Bryant hit a three with 6:15 on the clock before Henry had a jumper.  Bryant followed with a layup and a free throw before a fastbreak layup by Hills made it 55-45 with 4:15 remaining.  The run was at 10-0 before Logan had a bonus shot.  Hills had a layup followed by a free throw by Wilson that cut the lead to nine, 57-48, with 3:10 on the clock.

After a Green layup, Bryant got a three-point play the old-fashioned way prior to two free throws from MSU's Logan.  Hills and Wilson each had two free throws to make it a six-point game at 61-55 with 47.9 seconds left.  However, Tarleton missed three baskets in the final minute and a half while MSU had four free throws to win the game, 65-55.

Tarleton was led by Hills and Wilson with 13 points apiece while Henry had 12 and Bryant had 10.  Wilson led the squad with six rebounds.

The Texans averaged .372 from the floor (16-43), .235 from the arc (4-17) and .792 from the charity stripe (19-24).

Logan led the Mustangs with 19 points and 15 rebounds while Green had 16 points and Moore had 13.

MSU averaged .444 from the field (20-45), .444 from the arc (8-18) and .810 from the line (19-24).

Tarleton had 16 turnovers that led to 12 MSU points while the Mustangs committed 20 turnovers the Texans turned into 15 points. 

The Texans will now have to await an at-large bid from the NCAA to continue their season at the South Central Regional.  If the Texans are invited to the postseason event, it will be the seventh trip for Tarleton in the last nine seasons.

“We have been in this position before,” Reisman said.  “We lost the title game in the conference tournament and then went on to win the regional.  Once you get there, anything can happen.  We just need to go home, refocus and get ready to play if they let us. 

“This has been a great experience for our team,” Reisman said. “This was a great opportunity for us to play in a game like this.”

When asked about his experience at Bartlesville, the winningest coach in Tarleton history said he was pleased with the tournament and the town.

“Bartlesville has been tremendous,” Reisman said. “The crowd has come to support all of the games, and the First Baptist Church has been an excellent host for us. The hospitality has been great, and this has been another great experience, just like the last two years.”

Reisman and his squad will watch the NCAA Division II Selection Show on Sunday night, March 7 to see if they will get into the tournament.  The public is welcome to join them in Wisdom Gym for the women's show at 8 p.m. followed by the men's show at 8:30 p.m.