- Box Score
STEPHENVILLE – The No. 5 Texans gave head coach Lonn Reisman his 500th career victory at Tarleton on his first attempt with a 78-53 win over Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday.
As a throwback to all the previous victories under Reisman, the Texans wore their throwback uniforms which read either “team”, “family”, or “believe”. On Saturday night, the Tarleton men's basketball team showed exactly what that meant.
The Texans won their 13th-straight game and improved to 17-1 on the year. They also remain undefeated in Lone Star Conference play with a 9-0 record.
Reisman was emotional after the game.
“I've given my life to this university and I'm trying to do it the right way,” said Reisman. “I want to thank you. You've been the best fans for 24 years and that anyone could ever hope for. God bless.”
Win No. 500 was not the easiest of victories despite the final score.
Unlike the other night in Commerce, Tarleton got off to a fast start by jumping out to a commanding lead early. A 7-2 advantage quickly turned into an 11-2 ball game. That eventually became a 21-4 contest by the 11:49 mark.
It got all the way to 33-4 before Commerce was finally able to break the 22-0 run. A pair of free throws by Desmond King ended an 8:44 drought by Commerce.
The Lions struggled to find any offense against the nation's No. 1 defense in Tarleton.
A couple of late baskets narrowed the margin, but the Texans ended the half with a comfortable lead.
At the half, the Texans held a 42-17 lead. Through the first 20 minutes, Tarleton shot 56.4 percent from the floor while holding Commerce to an embarrassing 15.8 percent shooting.
Shedrick Haynes led Tarleton with 11 points, three assists and two steals, while Fabian Wilson added eight points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting half. The Texans had scoring contributed by eight different players at the break.
Brad Hambrick was the Lions leading scorer at the break with just six points.
Men's Basketball vs TAMUC - 1-21-12 Gallery
Coach Reisman's 500th win looked all but sealed up at halftime. Tarleton had to enter the second half with a 0-0 mentality though after Commerce stormed back late on Wednesday to make it a close ball game.
The second half started with a Lions' run as the visitors cut the margin to 16-points at 44-28 with 14:49 on the clock.
The Texans added to their lead once again, but Commerce continued to hang within striking distance and under 20-points away.
At the 5:37 mark, Tarleton pushed the lead back to 20-points and never looked back from there.
Once all was said and done, Coach Reisman and his No. 5 Texans conquered the Lions of Commerce 78-53 final.
Overall, Tarleton shot 47.1 percent from the floor and held Commerce to 27.5 percent shooting.
Chris Harrell had another dominant performance with 21 points and hit all 10 of his free throw attempts. Haynes added 15 points and five assists, while Wes Dipprey grabbed 11 rebounds.
The Texans out-scored the Lions 28-10 in the paint and out-rebounded Commerce 42-27 on the night.
Brad Hambrick led the Lions with 13 points and the Texans held LSC Preseason Player of the Year Desmond King to just 12 points on 2-of-6 shooting.
Coach Reisman reminisced back to his first win at Tarleton after the game.
“24 years ago I called a timeout with 10 seconds to go," said Reisman. " I remember we were down two points with eight seconds to go and Tracy Guy hits a shot at the top of the key here and we beat Mary Hardin-Baylor 72-71, 24 years ago."
Coach Reisman and the Texans will head out on the road next to take on Cameron in Lawton, Okla. on Wednesday night at 8 p.m.
For more information regarding the 2011-12 men's basketball season, check out TarletonSports.com.
