- Game Notes

STEPHENVILLE - The Tarleton men's basketball team will head out for just their second road contest of the season when they travel to Portales, N.M. to take on the Greyhounds.  The Texans enter the game on an eight-game winning streak  while ENMU is 9-4 on the year and coming off a loss to Long Beach State.

LAST WEEK
    The Texans (11-1) won their eighth straight contest after crushing Dallas Christian 85-41 on New Year's Eve in Wisdom Gym.  A five-man team was unable to stop the strength inside of Tarleton.  Fabian Wilson led the way with 19 points as the Texans routed the Crusaders, shooting 51.6 percent from the floor.

THIS YEAR
    On the season, Tarleton is shooting 49.6 percent from the floor, 32.3 percent from three-point land and 70.8 percent from the charity stripe.  The Texans are averaging 72.6 points per game and 36.5 rebounds per game.

HOLDING OFF OPPONENTS
    Opponent's are shooting just 34.3 percent overall and averaging 51.2 points per game against the Texans.  Tarleton is No. 3 in the nation in both categories, and led all levels of NCAA last season.

STATISTICAL LEADERS
    Chris Harrell leads the team with 12.4 points per game, while Fabian Wilson adds 11.1 and Zach Nelson adds 10.7 points each game.  Nelson and Wilson are also combining for 11.3 rebounds per game together.  Shedrick Haynes has 18 steals and 46 assists this year to contribute.  Brian Word has been effective on both ends of the floor with 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds each game.

SIZING UP THE OPPONENT
    The Greyhounds are 9-4 on the year and 2-2 in Lone Star Conference play.  ENMU has been very strong at home this year though, and hold a perfect 4-0 record in Greyhound Arena.
 
STOPPING THE GREYHOUNDS
    Overall, ENMU is averaging 80.8 points a game and holding opponents to 74.2 points a game.  The Greyhounds are shooting 47.1 percent from the floor, 34.5 percent from three-point range and 66.5 percent from the free throw line.  ENMU has been outrebounded by opponents, but is committing almost 2.8 fewer turnovers per game than the competition.

WHO TO LOOK FOR
    ENMU has five players averaging double-digit points and any of them are set to go off at a moment's notice.  The LSC's leading offense has a wide range of abilities and threats to Tarleton's defense.
    Reggie Nelson is averaging 13.9 points per game, while Curtis Wilkinson is adding 13.4 points and Stefan Mirabal is adding 12.8 points each contest.

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 (51.2 ppg) and No. 1 in scoring margin (+21.3).  The Texans are also No. 1 in field goal defense (.343), No. 4 in blocked shots (3.0) and No. 3 in rebounding margin (+6.4).
    Individually, Chris Harrell is No. 14 in scoring (12.4ppg), while Fabian Wilson is No. 7 in rebounding (6.3)  and No. 3 in blocks (1.0).  Zach Nelson is second in the conference in field goal percentage (.646).  Shedrick Haynes is No. 2 in assist-to-turnover ratio as well (1.4).

NO. 1 DEFENSE
    Tarleton finished the 2010-11 season as the No. 1 defense in the nation.  That was not only at the Division II level, but also in Division I, III and Junior College ranks.  This year's team has big shoes to fill, but has held opponents in check thus far as opposing offenses have averaged just 51.2 points per game.  That is good enough for No. 3 in the nation.

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. 10 in the nation and No. 3 in the LSC standings.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
    The Texans travel to Portales, N.M. then return home to host West Texas A&M on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. in Wisdom Gym.

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

DID YOU KNOW?
    The Texans are 11-1 on the season and have won eight straight games.  This is the best start for Tarleton since the 2002-03 team, who went 19-1 to begin the year.

GAMETIME
    Tip-off is at 8:30 p.m. for the men's game and 6:30 p.m. for the women's game in Greyhound Arena.

Live stats are provided by Eastern New Mexico athletics while the live radio feed is provided by KSTV 93.1 FM.

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