- Box Score
SAN ANGELO – The Tarleton Texans squared off against the Rams Wednesday night in Stephens Arena in San Angelo and left with a well-deserved 67-61 victory.
The Texans got out to an early lead, but the Rams hung with the No. 7 team in the nation for the most part.
Tarleton's stifling defense was effective besides a couple of deep three-pointers by ASU, which was uncharacteristic of their offense.
By the 12:00 mark, the game was tied at 16-16. Nine of Tarleton's points up that moment were via the three-point line while five of the points were from the charity stripe.
Rebounds were in the Texans' favor, but turnovers cancelled out the offensive boards.
Tarleton was four for its first eight shots in the game, compared to the Rams' 6-for-11 mark.
ASU took back the lead at 19-18 with 8:16 to play in the first half, but Brian Word's jumper put the Texans back on top. Fabian Wilson added to the margin after his bucket followed a two-offensive rebound possession.
With less than seven minutes to go before halftime, Tarleton led 22-19.
From that point on until the break, the Texans took control of the momentum and the game.
Tarleton got their lead to as high as 10 points at 31-21 at the 2:32 mark in the first half.
As the teams entered the locker rooms, the Texans enjoyed an eight-point advantage over the host Rams, 35-27.
Through 20 minutes of action, Tarleton shot 57.1 percent from the field and hit 7-of-8 free throw attempts. The Texans out-rebounded the Rams 15-7 and committed fewer turnovers.
Wilson had 11 points to lead the way and added five rebounds. Shedrick Haynes and Word both chipped in eight points apiece.
Keenen Coleman was ASU's leading scorer with nine points.
The Texans came out firing on all cylinders in the second half and jumped out to a 42-29 lead by the first media timeout. Tarleton started the second half with a 7-2 run.
ASU mounted a small comeback and cut the margin to just six points at 44-38 with 11:33 remaining in the game.
Haynes nailed a big three-pointer at the 9:10 mark to stop the bleeding for Tarleton. By that point, it was a 50-42 ball game.
As the game neared six minutes left to play, the Texans found themselves in a tight 52-48 contest.
The Rams had a chance to tie the game with a three as the match-up stalled at 52-49. ASU could not convert their attempts though and Tarleton held what slight advantage it had.
Haynes hit another big shot with 4:35 on the clock to make it a five-point game once again. But the Rams came storming back to keep it a one possession game.
ASU called a time out with 2:27 to go in the game and Tarleton leading 58-54. They were going to have to do something in a hurry otherwise the pressure of the Texans' defense and the patience of their offense would eat away the clock.
Wilson got a bucket and drew the foul on a huge possession for Tarleton, and converted the free throw to make it a 61-54 game. With 1:49 left, ASU's opportunity to mount a comeback was becoming slimmer.
After the Rams went down and hit a shot to keep it close, Word went down and gave the Texans another basket and a foul. His free throw came up short, but Wes Dipprey grabbed the offensive board.
Despite a back-and-forth contest for most of the night, the No. 7 Texans were just too productive down the stretch for the Rams to have a chance.
Made free throws down the stretch helped Tarleton finish off its regular season road slate with a 67-61 finale.
Overall, the Texans shot 53.5 percent from the floor and 69 percent from the free throw line. Tarleton dominated the glass with a 34-22 advantage in rebounds.
Wilson poured in 18 points and grabbed 12 boards to lead the Texans' effort, while Harrell contributed 15 points and three assists. Haynes added 16 points and six assists, with Word chipping in 10 points.
It marked Wilson's fifth double-double of the season.
Coleman had a team-high 21 points for ASU and Javae King-Gilchrist had 19 points. The Rams did not record a single block on the night and had just six offensive rebounds.
Head coach Lonn Reisman talked about the game afterwards.
“I thought it was a good effort from our guys,” said Reisman. “Some of our players have been injured and we needed our other guys to step up. I liked the way we played tonight, we grinded it out. We were able to execute and against an Angelo State team that was fighting for the postseason.”
The No. 7 Texans (23-4, 14-3) wrap-up the regular season on Saturday when they host Abilene Christian at 7 p.m. in Wisdom Gym. It will be senior night at Tarleton and the seven Texan seniors will be recognized before the game.
For more information regarding the 2011-12 Tarleton men's basketball campaign, check out TarletonSports.com.
