- Box Score
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The No. 15 Tarleton Texans were looking to cut down the Lone Star Conference Championship nets on Sunday, but the Texans had a hard time finding the bottom of the twine in a 68-52 loss to No. 7 Central Oklahoma.
The Texans (24-5) had won 11 straight, but shot 27.5 percent from the floor, including a 25 percent average from the three-point arc (7-28), ruined Tarleton's chances at winning its second LSC Championship Tournament, which was held in Bartlesville, Okla. for the final time after a four-year stay.
In the second half, Tarleton had stints of 6:58 and 5:08 without field goals while UCO went on a 14-0 run to pull away from the LSC South Division champions.
“Central Oklahoma played very well today, and they changed their defenses a lot,” said Tarleton head coach Lonn Reisman. “We had some good looks at the basket, and ours just didn't go in and theirs did.”
The Bronchos (28-3) shot 56.8 percent from the field, including a 50 percent-mark from the arc (10-20).
“It's been a while since we struggled on defense, but you have to give the Bronchos credit,” Reisman said. “Both of these defenses are good. I don't think we executed very well against their defense. I know we are a lot better in executing on both ends of the floor, but I give UCO credit.”
Tucker Phillips got the game rolling with a put back just 28 seconds into the contest with a putback before Corin Henry threw the ball in from out-of-bounds off the defenders back and had a layup to tie the game 29 seconds later. Devon Hills then hit a three to make it 5-2 Tarleton before UCO went on a 8-0 run to take a 10-5 lead with 13:53 on the clock.
Henry had a jumper and a three from the left corner to tie the game at 10 just 45 seconds later, but a three from Tyler Phillips and a layup by Brent Friday put UCO up by five once again. Donta Smith had a layup before a free throw from Wes Dipprey cut the lead to two. Dauntae Williams scored a layup at 9:44 prior to Dipprey hitting a three from the right corner. Victor Driver and Dipprey traded threes to make it 20-19 with 8:00 left in the period.
Friday hit the front end of a two-shot foul while Henry hit the front end of a one-and-one. The Texan senior point guard then hit both ends of a one-and-one to lift the Texans to a 22-21 lead at the 7:07-mark. Hills then had the backend of a two-shot foul at 5:49 to make it 23-21 Tarleton, but the Bronchos again went on a run – this one put UCO ahead 28-23 with 3:44 with layups from Friday and D.J. Lemons.
Henry added two free throws at 3:41 to cut the lead to three before an alley-oop pass found Friday. Coleman Furst nailed a three for the only Texan field goal in the last eight minutes which cut the lead to 30-28 at 3:01, but Tyler Phillips had a layup and Tucker Phillips a three to make it 35-28 at the break, in favor of the Bronchos.
Williams opened the second half with a three before Dipprey had a layup, but a three by Driver put UCO ahead 41-30 with 17:26 on the clock. Tarleton then went on a 9-0 run with a jumper from Henry, two free throws by Furst and Mosley, a Wilson putback and a Mosley free throw that made it 41-39 UCO with 14:30 remaining.
Then the run by the Bronchos happened that put Tarleton down 54-39. Tarleton's next field goal came after a 6:58-drought without a bucket at 8:15 when Smith had a putback to cut it to 54-41. Jarrod McDaniel had a layup before Hills connected on two bonus shots at 7:45. After Driver had a layup, Mosley had two free throws. Friday had a steal and a dunk on the fastbreak before Mosley had the backend of a two-shot foul at 5:01 to make it 61-46.
Williams and Tucker Phillips had two free throws apiece before Henry and Wilson had back-to-back threes for the Texans to make it 65-52 with 1:49 on the clock. Henry's three ended a 5:08-run without a field goal for the Texans.
UCO ended the game with one free throw each from three different players as the Texans fell, 68-52. It was a battle of the top seeds, and for the fourth time in the last five seasons, UCO knocked out the Texans out of postseason events.
“This was a hard-fought game, and Tarleton is an excellent team,” said UCO head coach Terry Evans. “We wanted them to have to do something different and keep them off the free throw line, and I believe that was a key. Another key was that we ran our offense well, and we executed on both ends, and we came away with the win. Tarleton is an outstanding defensive team, and it makes a big difference when shots go in for us. I know they didn't play their best game, but I have to give my defense credit for getting it done tonight.”
Corin Henry, who was named to the LSC All-Tournament Team for the second straight year, led Tarleton with 19 points while Hills was tops with seven rebounds as the Texans outrebounded the opponent 34-33.
Tarleton just shot .471 from the charity stripe on Sunday (8-17).
UCO averaged .471 from the free throw line (8-17) and was led by Friday with 16 points while Williams and Driver each had 14. Tucker Phillips led the squad with nine rebounds.
The Texans will now await a bid to the 2011 NCAA Division II South Central Region tournament which will be held March 12-15 at a site to be determined. The regional bids will be announced tonight, Sunday, March 6 at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com.
Reisman said he believes his squad will keep playing next week.
“I told the team this is just one game,” Reisman said. “The NCAA looks at the body of work, and I believe this team has earned a berth in the regional tournament. I thought this final four was the toughest ever in the conference tournament, and we got to the finals. I told the kids to keep their heads up, and let's go home and get ready to play next weekend.”
