- Box Score

KINGSVILLE – The No. 12 Tarleton Texan basketball team headed out on the road for the first time this season and felt the pressure as the visiting team.  Tarleton saw a big lead diminish and narrowly escaped with a 72-70 victory over Kingsville.

The host Javelinas took an early 7-0 lead after the Texans struggled to get things going offensively.

At the 16:41 mark, Tarleton put a few buckets together and cut the lead to just two points, 12-10.  Three pointers by Chris Harrell and Wes Dipprey sandwiched a contested basket by Brian Word to spark the run.

With the momentum in their favor, the Texans were able to tie the game up at 15-15 with 12:47 to go in the first half thanks to a big three by Word.Men's Basketball at TAMUK - 12-7-11 Gallery

From that point on, Tarleton led the rest of the way.  A two-point Texan advantage quickly became a 12-point lead over the next 4:31.

Tarleton continued to build on their double-digit lead, but an eight-point Kingsville run cut the margin back down to nine, 36-27, with 1:24 on the clock.

A pair of baskets countered the Javelina streak and put Tarleton back ahead by double-digits.

At the half, the Texans lead 41-27.  Through the first 20 minutes, Tarleton shot 53.6 percent from the floor and hit all six free throws attempted.  The Texans held the Javelinas to just 33.3 percent from the field and 50 percent from the charity stripe.

Brian Word had a phenomenal first half off the bench, recording 11 points, grabbing five boards, dishing out three assists and picking up three steals.  Chris Harrell provided 13 points to the fray while hitting a pair of three's and being perfect at the free throw line.

Marcus Ford was Kingsville leading scorer in the first half with 11 points.

Tarleton entered the second half with a comfortable 14-point advantage.

That would change though as Kingsville chipped away at both Tarleton's lead and confidence.

It took a few minutes for either team to get situated in the second 20 minute period as both teams traded baskets through the first eight minutes of action.

The Texans watched as their lead would dwindle to single digits then extend back to 14 points.

From the 11:54 point on, the game became more and more intense with each basket.  A 51-42 ball game in Tarleton's favor soon became a 54-50 game with 8:52 remaining in the contest.

The Texans saw their comfortable 14-point lead disintegrate into a two-point lead as the surging Javelinas mounted their comeback.

With 6:42 left in the contest, Kingsville's Marcus Ford hit a tough runner in the paint to tie the game up at 56-56.

Zach Nelson responded with a lay-up and the free throw to put Tarleton back on top by three with just six minutes left in the game.

The Texans and the Javelinas went back and forth over the next four minutes.  Each time Tarleton would attempt to pull away, Kingsville would counter with a clutch basket to keep the Texans within distance.

Down the stretch in the final two minutes, it was converted free throws that saved Tarleton with Fabian Wilson and Zach Nelson swishing a pair each.  Nelson also hit the final bucket for the Texans at the 1:22 mark that gave Tarleton a 72-68 lead.

Kingsville's Ashton Brown hit a pair of free throws of his own to cut the lead to two.  The Javelinas had the exact situation they wanted to end the game with 33 seconds, the ball in their possession and just a two-point deficit.

Unfortunately for Kingsville, they missed three straight baskets in the last half minute and just couldn't overcome the feisty Texans.

Tarleton escaped with a 72-70 victory over Kingsville and pushes its record to 7-1, 2-0 in conference play.

As a team, the Texans shot 51.1 percent from the floor and 85.7 percent from the charity stripe.  Tarleton held the Javelinas to 44.8 percent shooting and 66.7 percent from the free throw line.

Word led the Texans with 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.  Harrell added 15 points with Coleman Furst scoring 12 points.

Ashton Brown had 20 points to lead Kingsville, while Robert Williams dropped in 17 of his own.

Tarleton returns home to host Incarnate Word at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10 in Wisdom Gym.

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