- Live Stats
- Live Radio
- Game notes

STEPHENVILLE - The Tarleton men's basketball has taken over the top spot in the Lone Star Conference standings and will try to defend their position on Wednesday when they head to Commerce to take on the 6-9 Lions.  Tarleton trails in the all-time series 23-28, but has won the last two meetings between the two squads.

GAMETIME
    Tip-off is at 8 p.m. for the men's game and 6 p.m. for the women's game in Wisdom Gym.

LAST WEEK
    The Texans (15-1) defeated LSC bottom-dwellers Angelo State and Abilene Christian on Wednesday and Saturday respectively.  Tarleton has now won 12-straight games and continues to lead the nation in scoring defense, giving up just 53.9 points per game.  Brian Word earned LSC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts against the Rams and Wildcats, while Fabian Wilson averaged 14.0 points and 10.0 boards.

THIS YEAR
    On the season, Tarleton is shooting 48.4 percent from the floor, 32.8 percent from three-point land and 70.7 percent from the charity stripe.  The Texans are averaging 70.2 points per game and 35.5 rebounds per game.

HOLDING OFF OPPONENTS
    Opponent's are shooting just 35.3 percent overall and averaging 51.9 points per game against the Texans.  Tarleton is No. 1 in the nation in points allowed and field goal percentage allowed.

STATISTICAL LEADERS
    Chris Harrell is Tarleton's leading scorer with 13.3 points per game while Fabian Wilson is adding 10.4 points and 7.1 rebounds each contest.  Shedrick Haynes is the main fascilitator with 57 assists on the year to go with his 10.1 points per game.  Brian Word is among the team leaders in most major categories, including steals, assists and rebounds.

SIZING UP THE OPPONENT
    The Lions have had a rough start to conference play with a 1-6 record and a 6-9 overall mark.  Their lone conference win came against Eastern New Mexico on Jan. 7 at home.
    Commerce does lead the all-time series 28-23, but hasn't defeated the Texans since Nov. 25, 2008.
 
STOPPING THE LIONS
    Overall, the Lions are averaging 71.1 points per game and giving up a league-high 77.1 points to opponents.  As a team, TAMUC is shooting 45.8 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from three-point range.  They rank towards the bottom of the conference in most of the major statistical categories, including last in scoring defense and scoring margin (-6.0).

WHO TO LOOK FOR
    The Lions are led offensively by Desmond King, the Lone Star Conference Preseason Player of the Year.  King is averaging 16.3 points per game, which is good for No. 3 in the LSC.  Brad Hambrick and Preston Whitley are also averaging double figure points while LaBree Sledge leads the league in assists with 72 total.

AMONG THE BEST
    The Texans are ranked near the top of almost every statistical category in the conference.
    Tarleton is No. 1 in scoring defense (51.9 ppg) and No. 1 in scoring margin (+18.2).  The Texans are also No. 1 in field goal defense (.353), No. 2 in rebounding defense (29.8) and No. 3 in rebounding margin (+5.7).
    Individually, Chris Harrell is No. 9 in scoring (13.3 ppg), while Fabian Wilson is No. 3 in rebounding (7.1) and No. 3 in blocks (1.0).  Shedrick Haynes is No. 3 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3) as well as No. 2 in assists (3.6).  Harrell and Coleman Furst are in the top five in free throw percentage.

REMAINING IN THE RANKINGS
    Tarleton was ranked No. 8 in the NABC/NCAA Division II Preseason Polls and No. 1 in the Lone Star Conference Preseason poll.
    The Texans are now No. 5 in the nation and have a solid hold on No. 1 in the LSC standings.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
    The Texans travel to Commerce Wednesday before returning the favor and hosting the Lions at home on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Wisdom Gym.

REISMAN'S QUEST FOR 500
    Head coach Lonn Reisman is just two wins shy of getting his 500th victory at Tarleton.  He entered the season with a career record of 483-210.

DID YOU KNOW?
    This week marks the second straight week a Texan was honored as LSC Player of the Week.  Junior guard Brian Word was named Defensive POW just one week after Tarleton's Wes Dipprey earned the honor.  Chris Harrell was also named offensive POW last week as well.

Live stats are available on Texas A&M-Commerce's website while the live radio feed is provided by KSTV 93.1 FM.

For more information, check out TarletonSports.com.