- Box Score

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The No. 15 Tarleton Texans trailed Midwestern State by 14 with 3:21 seconds left in the first half on Saturday in Bartlesville, Okla. before going on a 55-17 run over the last 23 minutes of the game to claim a 74-50 victory to advance to the 2011 Lone Star Conference Championship final on Sunday.

Tarleton (24-4) outscored MSU 41-12 in the second half as the nation's No. 1 scoring defense looked like it was going to give away more than its average to the opponent after allowing 38 points in the first half. However, the Texans held the Mustangs to just 50 points in the game – two points below the season average for Tarleton foes.

“We knew it was going to be a very tough ballgame,” said Tarleton head coach Lonn Reisman. “We knew it would be an emotional game, and I knew they would come out really up for the game. Chris Hagan was really on fire to start the game, and I told them to just weather the storm and I told them to cut it down a little at a time. The guys really followed the game plan well, and we didn't panic. I thought our experience and leadership was able to weather the storm and get us back into the game.”

Tarleton had trailed 33-19 at the 3:21-mark before the Texans started a 32-6 run that put Tarleton ahead 51-39 before the Mustangs got their first bucket of the second period at 12:36. The Mustangs were five-of-20 overall from the free throw line, including two-of-13 during the second half.

“I thought our defense, which has carried us all year, played really well,” Resiman said. “Our offense really clicked tonight in the second half as well.

“MSU is a tremendous team, and they are so explosive,” Reisman continued. “I thought we really did a tremendous job of tweaking a couple of things at halftime. I thought the things we did adjust to at halftime really made a difference. We talked about the positives and tried not to talk about the negatives other than to make adjustments.”

Tarleton senior Corin Henry directed the comeback for Tarleton, tying his career-high 29 points to lead all scorers as Hagan finished with 21 points for MSU with just two points in the second period.

After David Terrell opened the game with a layup, Henry nailed a Texan three to put Tarleton ahead for the only time in the first half 1:17 into the period. Hagan then hit back-to-back threes before Donta Smith had a hook shot for Tarleton to make it 8-5. Henry had two free throws on both sides of a Michael Loyd layup to make it 13-9 before Loyd ha a three to increase the lead to seven.

Smith added two free throws for the Texans before a Thomas Colbert putback. Henry and Colbert traded buckets in the paint before Adrian Van Buren had a three to make it 23-13 in favor of the Mustangs at 9:46. Hagan then had a layup before a Chris Buttermore free throw stretched the lead to 13 before Darrion Washington had a three at 7:54 to end a 9:21-stretch with just one field goal in that span.

Hagan had two free throws for the Mustangs before Nick Mosley hit one for Tarleton. Hagan had a three to make it 31-17 with 4:26 left in the period. Henry traded two free throws with a Buttermore layup to make it 33-198 with 3:18 on the clock.

Fabian Wilson then hit the first of four straight Tarleton threes. After Wilson's bucket, Buttermore had a layup before Washington, Henry and Wilson continued the threes for the Texans to cut the lead to four (35-31) with 1:08 left in the half. Wilson then got a putback to cut the score to 35-33 with 33.5 seconds left in the period before Hagan had a three with 2.4 seconds left from the top of the key to put the Mustangs ahead 38-33 at the break.

Hagan, who had just 17 points in the first two games combined, finished the first half with 19 points – thanks to a five-of-seven tally from the arc.

Henry opened the second period with three free throws at 19:24 to cut the lead to two before Smith tied the game at 38 with two free throws in at 18:09. Wilson then had a jump hook to put Tarleton ahead for good. MSU went one-for-eight from the charity stripe over the next two minutes while Devon Hills had two bonus shots for the Texans to make it 42-39.

Coleman Furst then had a three before Henry made a jumper. Dipprey had a steal and hit Henry on a pass who was then fouled. He connected on two free throws at 13:21 to make it a 10-point advantage (49-39). Dipprey got another steal on the defensive end and Smith had a putback. The first field goal of the second half for the Mustangs came at 12:37 when Terrell had a steal and a dunk to make it 51-41.

After Henry and Hills both had the backend of a two shot foul before Loyd had a free throw. Hagan had his only points of the second half on a bucket at 10:18. Henry had a three before Charlie Logan had a putback dunk. Furst added a free throw at 9:14 to make it 57-48 prior to a layup by Logan. Warren Webb and Smith had back-to-back layups to make it 61-48 before Henry had a layup. The last MSU points came on a jumper by Loyd at 5:26 to make it 63-50.

Dipprey had a dunk before Furst nailed a three after a Henry pass. Smith had a slam before Henry and Washington finished the game with two free throws apiece to give the Texans the 74-50 victory.

Wilson was the only other Texan with double figures, scoring 10 for Tarleton. Smith and Webb each had seven rebounds to lead the squad as Tarleton outrebounded MSU 37-24.

The Texans averaged .488 from the floor (20-41), .450 from the three-point arc (9-20) and .758 from the charity stripe (25-33).

MSU was led by Hagan with his 21 points as the only player in double digits while Keonte' Logan and Loyd led the squad with four rebounds each. 

The Mustangs averaged .404 from the field (19-47) after connecting on 56.0 percent of their shots in the first half. MSU shot .350 from the arc (7-20) and .250 from the line (5-20).

Tarleton will return to action against Central Oklahoma in the championship game at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 6 at Bruin Fieldhouse in Bartlesville, Okla. The Texans will play in their seventh LSC title game since the 2002 season. Tarleton is 1-5 in those games.

“UCO has a tremendous team and has had a tremendous year,” Reisman said. “If you look at the final four teams in this tournament, probably all four are going to the NCAA tournament next week, and it is just keeps getting tougher.”