- Box Score

STEPHENVILLE – The No. 16 Texans opened up Lone Star Conference play against Cameron on Wednesday night in Wisdom Gym.  Tarleton had exactly the performance it was hoping for by defeating the Aggies easily, 66-41.

Last year, the Aggies handed the Texans their first loss of the season in Lawton, Okla.  Tarleton was anxious to return the favor on their home court this time around.

The Texans stormed out of the gate and took a quick 7-0 lead before four minutes had even ticked off the clock.  The Aggies finally were able to get on the board at the 16:13 mark, but it would be another minute and a half before they struck again.

By the first media time out, Chris Harrell nailed his second three of the game and third basket to give Tarleton a commanding 12-4 lead.  That quickly turned into a 20-8 lead with 9:05 left in the first half.

The Texans went on to finish the half the same way they started with a 7-0 run.

After 20 minutes of play, Tarleton held a comfortable 36-14 lead over Cameron.

Harrell led all scorers with 11 points to go with his two steals.  Shedrick Haynes added eight points, four rebounds and four assists, while Wes Dipprey chipped in seven points and four more boards.

As a team, Tarleton shot 48.1 percent from the floor and 83.3 percent from the charity stripe.  They held Cameron to just 27.3 percent from the field and an abysmal 0-for-9 from three-point land.

Vinicius Telo and Milton Garner combined for 10 of the 14 Aggie points.

The Texans also got nine points from their bench players while Cameron got zero points.  Tarleton distributed the ball well and had nine assists.  Cameron had zero assists and eight turnovers in the first half.

In the second half, it was important for Tarleton to not take their foot off the pedal because all conference games can be dangerous.

With the Texans ahead 18 at the half, they could only build on their lead in the second half.  Despite the lopsided final score, Cameron hung with Tarleton in the second half as they scored 23 points to the Texans' 25 points.

Both teams traded baskets, but down such a huge margin entering the last 20 minutes, there was just no way the Aggies would be able to overcome the deficit, especially against such a potent Texan defense.

Tarleton pushed the lead to 25 with 15:16 on the clock, but Cameron stormed back and cut the difference down to 15 over the next seven minutes of play.

The Texans answered with a rally of their own and extended the lead back to 25 at 62-37 with 3:13 left.

The Aggies didn't make a single three pointer until just 22 seconds were left on the clock.  They finished the game 1-for-14.

In the end, Tarleton was just too much for Cameron and the Texans got their third straight victory with a final of 66-41. 

Overall, Tarleton shot 51 percent from the floor and 62.5 percent from the free throw line.  Cameron shot 35.6 percent from the field and a horrid 7.1 percent from behind the arc.

Zach Nelson led the Texans with 13 points and seven rebounds.  Chris Harrell had all 11 of his points in the first half, while Wes Dipprey added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Brian Word came off the bench to pour in six points and grab nine rebounds.  Shedrick Haynes also contributed eight points and seven assists.

Vinicius Telo scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting.  Cameron only had five assists and five offensive rebounds in the contest.

Head coach Lonn Reisman talked about his team's effort after the game.

“We thought our game plan was excellent tonight and our assistant coaches did a great job of putting it together,” said Reisman.  “It's like starting the season over again when you get into conference play.  The home team has pressure though and Cameron had nothing to lose.  Our guys stepped up tonight.”

The Texans (6-1) get the weekend off before heading to Kingsville next Wednesday to take on the Javelinas at 8 p.m.

For more information regarding the 2011-12 Tarleton men's basketball season, check out TarletonSports.com.