Box Score STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton's Davene Carter (F, So, Duncanville) scored 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Texans to a 91-70 non-conference victory over Dallas Christian at Wisdom Gym in Stephenville on Saturday.
 
The Texans (3-1) outscored the Crusaders (1-9) 13-2 to open-up the second half and ran away from DCU on the way to a 21-point win.
 
Tarleton took a 12-point lead into the locker room, up 51-39 over the Crusaders. Carter led all players at the break with 15 points after going 7-for-7 from the field during the first 20 minutes of play. The sophomore had five rebounds at break and went 1-for-1 at the line as well.
 
DCU would just not go away in a first half that saw five ties and eight lead changes. The Crusaders went bucket-for-bucket with the Texans over the first 13-plus minutes in the game. Down 34-30 with 6:35 left to play, DCU went on a 4-0 run and tied the game at 34-34 with 6:15 left on the clock.
 
Enter the Texans.
 
Tarleton opened an 11-0 run with a dunk from Carter at the 5:44 mark to go up 36-24, and then later at the 2:54 mark, Carter put in a lay-up and was fouled on the play. He made the free throw to put the Texans up 45-34.
 
The teams would then close-out the remainder of the first half going bucket for bucket on the way to Tarleton's 12-point lead.
 
Tarleton out-rebounded the visiting squad 24-6 in the first half and out-scored DCU 11-0 in second chance points.
 
The Texans opened up the second half with a dunk from Brian Word (G, Sr, Baltimore, Md.) and never looked back, going on an 11-2 run before the first media timeout. Tarleton would hit a three-pointer coming out of the timeout to push its lead to 24 points, up 65-21, and the teams would primarily trade baskets throughout the remainder of the game.
 
The Crusaders would only pull within 17 points at one point midway through the second half and Tarleton would eventually extend its lead to as many as 26 points with a little more than two minutes left to play.
 
Carter's 21 points led all players, but three more Texans finished in double-figures in the game as well. Coleman Furst (G, Jr, Denison) scored 13 points, Word added 10 points and De'Andre Upchurch (G, Jr, Flint, Mich.) poured in 16 points off the bench for the Texans.
 
Tarleton out-rebounded the Crusaders 43-21, forced 20 DCU turnovers and had 13 steals on the night.
 
The Crusaders shot 55.8 percent from the field, but Tarleton nearly matched them shooting 53.5 percent on the night as well. DCU went 8-for-14 from beyond the arc, but went to the foul line just six times.
 
Tarleton shot 33.3 percent from the three-point line and were 8-for-18 from the charity stripe.
 
The Texans scored 56 points in the paint, 24 points off turnovers and had 19 second-chance points.
 
Tarleton returns to action a week from tonight with another non-conference contest. The Texans will host Arlington Baptist next Saturday, Dec. 1 at Wisdom Gym. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Stephenville.