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STEPHENVILLE, Texas - Coming off a two-game road swing, the Tarleton Texans (8-6, 2-5 LSC) return to Wisdom Gym to host the West Texas A&M Buffs (11-4, 3-4 LSC) in Lone Star Conference action this Saturday, Jan. 19. Tip-off between the Texans and the Buffs is set for 7 p.m. in Stephenville.
 
QUICK HITS
• The Texans are coming off a heartbreaking 59-56 loss to Eastern New Mexico in Portales, N.M., on Wednesday.
• The Texans led by as many as 15 points with 15:14 left to play in the second half, but a 22-7 run tied the game at 45-45 with 6:46 remaining in the contest. Following three free throws from Coleman Furst (G, Jr, Denison) to tie the game at 56-56 at the 28 second mark, ENMU's Rodney Blackmon nailed a three-pointer to give the Greyhounds a 59-56 lead. Tarleton had just 2.2 seconds remaining on the clock and its desperation half court shot sailed wide to give ENMU the win.
• The loss snapped a 10-game winning streak for the Texans over the Greyhounds.
 
ABOUT THE BUFFS
• WT is coming off a 67-53 win over A&M-Commerce at First United Bank Center in Canyon on Wednesday.
• The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Buffs as the team improved to 11-4 overall and 3-4 in Lone Star Conference play.
• The Buffs opened the 2012-13 campaign winning six-consecutive games.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday's contest marks the 40th meeting between the Texans and the Buffs.
• The Buffs lead the all-time series 22-17. All 39 games
• Tarleton is 11-7 when playing the Buffs inside Wisdom. The Texans have a current three-game home winning streak over the Buffs. The last time a WT team downed the Texans at home came back on Jan. 24, 2009 (69-59).
• Tarleton is just 4-13 against the Buffs in Canyon and 2-2 on a neutral court.
• The average margin of victory between the two teams over the previous five games is just 10.2 points. Last season's 22-point win for the Texans was the most lopsided victory for either team in the series since Tarleton defeated the Buffs by 26 points back on Dec. 30, 2002 (75-49).
• Either team has scored 70 points or more in just two games since Jan. 26, 2008.
• The average combined score between the two teams over the last 10 games has been just 112.8 points per game. The largest point total over the last 10 games has been 150 points between the two teams back on Mar. 5, 2010 (TSU 82, WT 68). Both teams combined to score just 80 points (TSU 36, WT 44) on Jan. 26, 2011 in Canyon.
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS
• Head coach Rick Cooper is in his 20th season with the Buffs. He brings in an overall record of 380-185 at WT and has never had a losing season in Canyon.
• Cooper reached the Elite Eight Championship with the Buffs back in 1997-98 after posting a record of 25-5.
• Cooper served six seasons as head coach at Wayland Baptist before taking over at WT in 1993. He went 152-47 in six seasons at WBU and is 532-235 overall in his 26-year career.
• WT has won four of its previous six games heading into Saturday's contest in Stephenville.
• All four of WT's losses have come to conference opponents (ACU, MSU, UIW and TAMUK).
• The Buffs are averaging 64.4 points per game, compared to Tarleton's 66.2 points per contest. WT is shooting 46.8 percent from the field as a team and are converting 68.1 percent of its free-throw attempts. WT is 32.5 percent from beyond the arc.
• The Buffs are averaging 35.2 rebounds per game and out-rebounding opponents by 9.6 boards per game.
• Donald Sims - the LSC's Preseason Player of the Year - leads the Buffs in scoring (14.1 ppg) and rebounding (8.5) so far this season. He is shooting a team-best 67.7 percent from the field and has a team-high 12 blocks as well.
• Darnell Jackson leads the Buffs with 68 assists this season and he has a team-high 26 steals as well. Tez Dumars leads the team from downtown having made 22 three-pointers this season.
 
ROAD WOES CONTINUE
• Tarleton dropped to 0-4 on the road this season and the team has not won away from Wisdom Gym in its previous five attempts dating back to last season's overtime loss to Arkansas Tech in the NCAA South Central Regional semifinal game.
• The last time a Tarleton team dropped five-consecutive games away from home came back in the 1995-96 season. Tarleton dropped a school record eight-straight games on the road during that season.
 
UNCHARTED WATERS
• The last time a Tarleton team dropped four straight games came back in the 1995-96 team when the Texans dropped nine-consecutive contests - the most ever during the Reisman era.
• Tarleton's four-consecutive losses to LSC opponents is a first in school history. The Texans have dropped three-straight games to LSC teams just seven times in school history, but had never dropped four-straight until Wednesday's loss at ENMU.
 
WINNING AT WISDOM
• The Tarleton Texans are now 325-58 (.851) overall when playing inside the friendly confines of Wisdom Gym under head coach Lonn Reisman.
• The Texans have posted a record of 199-25 (.892) at home under Reisman since the year 2000.
• Since joining NCAA Division II, Tarleton is 252-44 (.854) all-time at home.
 
FALLING AT WISDOM
• With an overall record of 325-58 inside Wisdom Gym under head coach Lonn Reisman, it has been a rare occasion for a Texan team to drop two or more games at home.
• The last time a Texan team lost two-straight at home came back in the 2008-09 season when Tarleton lost 69-69 to WT on Jan. 24, 2009 before falling 51-45 to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Jan. 14, 2009.
• The Texans have not lost three-consecutive games inside Wisdom Gym since the 1995-96 season.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
• Despite its three-game losing streak, Tarleton still ranks among the nation's best in scoring defense, giving up just 59.8 points per game. The mark ranks 12th in the nation. Cal-Poly Panoma leads the nation giving up just 54.8 points per outing.
• Tarleton ranks inside the nation's top-50 teams in blocks as well, averaging 4.3 blocked shots, which ranks 32nd overall.
 
CATHEY-MACKLIN AMONG NATION'S BEST
• Tarleton's Jon Cathey-Macklin (F, Jr, Milwaukee, Wis.) averages 1.31 blocks per game, which ranks fifth in the LSC and 89th in the nation.
• Cathey-Macklin tallied a season-high three blocks in Tarleton's wins over Henderson State and Texas A&M-Kingsville. He currently leads the team with 17 blocks so far on the season.
 
CARTER LEADING THE LSC
• Davene Carter (F, So, Duncanville) leads the LSC with a shooting percentage of 84.3 percent in 13 contests this season.
• Carter is 43-of-51 from the field this season.
• He would lead the nation in field goal shooting percentage, but he averages just 3.3 field goals made per contest. To be considered nationally, the player must average at least 5.0 field goals made per game.
• The national leader, Dazmond Starke of Kentucky Wesleyan, is shooting 71.0 percent from the field - 13.3 percentage points less than Carter.
 
HOW THE LSC IS STACKING UP SO FAR
• The Texans were picked to win the LSC. Tarleton currently sits in a tie for sixth-place with West Texas A&M in the conference at 2-4.
• MSU, who was picked to finish second, leads the league with an 8-1 mark in conference games.
• WTAMU's Donald Sims was named the LSC's Preseason Player of the Year; he currently ranks 7th in scoring (14.0 ppg), second in rebounds (8.4 rpg) and second in field goal percentage (.698).
 
OPENING UP THE LSC SCHEDULE
• Tarleton dropped its LSC opener for the first time since Jan. 14, 2009 with its five-point loss to Angelo State on Wednesday.
• The Texans are now 12-7 in LSC openers since joining the league in 1994.
 
TEXANS PICKED TO WIN LSC
• The Texans were selected to defend its LSC Championship, earning the No. 1 ranking in the preseason poll released by the league office on Oct. 25, 2012.
• Tarleton received 12 of a possible 29 first-place votes in the poll.
• Midwestern State received 12 first-place votes in the poll as well, but Tarleton took the top spot earning 269 total points to MSU's 262.
 
TEXANS DEBUT 2012-13 SEASON AT NO. 17 IN NABC PRESEASON POLL
• The Texans finished the 2011-12 campaign at No. 9 in the nation and head into the new season at No. 17 according to a preseason poll released by the NABC on Nov. 2.
• Tarleton was the highest ranked LSC team in the preseason poll. MSU debuts at No. 23 in 2012-13 after finishing No. 5 last season.
• Including the 2012-13 campaign, Tarleton has been preseason ranked inside the top-25 seven times.
 
TARLETON IN SEASON-OPENERS
• Tarleton snapped a 10-game winning streak in season openers after falling 73-60 to Southwestern Assemblies of God in the 2012-13 opening game. Tarleton fell to 21-4 in season-openers under coach Reisman.
• Tarleton's last loss in a season-opener had come back in 2001 against Wingate (73-83).
 
REISMAN AMONG WINNINGEST ACTIVE COACHES IN NATION
• Lonn Reisman entered the 2012-13 season with a .702 winning percentage, which ranks 12th overall among active coaches in NCAA Division II.
• Reisman's .702 winning percentage ranks 26th overall among active coaches in both NCAA Division I and II.
 
TEXANS RANKED NO. 1 IN DEFENSE LAST SEASON
• The Texans finished the season ranked No. 1 overall in scoring defense for a second-straight year after allowing opponents to just 56.3 points per game in 2012-13. The Texans allowed just 53.3 points to finish no. 1 in 2010-11.
 
UP NEXT
• Tarleton's home stand does not last long as the Texans are back on the road Next Saturday, Jan. 26 against A&M-Commerce in Commerce. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside TAMUC Fieldhouse.
• The Texans will then return for a three-game home stand, which begins Wednesday, Jan. 30 with a non-conference game against McMurry. Tip-off between the Texans and Warhawks is set for 7 p.m.