Box Score STEPHENVILLE – Chuck Guy (G, Jr, Fort Worth) was a perfect 6-for6 from the charity stripe over the final 10 seconds of the contest as he guided the Texans to a 52-46 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville returning to Lone Star Conference action at Wisdom Gym in Stephenville on Wednesday.
 
The Texans took a 31-21 lead into the locker room on the strength of A'Darius Pegues' (F, Jr, Lousiville, Ky.) 11 first half points. The junior-transfer tallied five buckets in seven attempts and was 1-for-1 from the charity stripe.
 
The Texans (12-28) and Javelinas (9-21) each shot 42.9 percent from the field, but it was Tarleton's 3-for-7 from behind the arc and 4-for-6 effort from the charity stripe that made the difference in the first half.
 
The Texans out-rebounded the visiting team 18-12 in the first half and forced three more turnovers (5-8) over the first 20 minutes. The Javelinas scored six points off Tarleton turnovers but the Texans countered with five second-chance points.
 
TAMUK led just two different times in the first half, going up 7-6 with 16:07 left to play and again at the 14:06 mark, up 9-8. The Texans would go on a 6-0 run to push its lead to 14-9 and later used a 7-0 run to go up 21-13 with less than six minutes to play.
 
Up by just three points with 2:52 left to play, Tarleton used an 8-1 run to close out the first half en route to the 10-point lead at the break.
 
Both defense continued to show their skills in the second half, as neither team allowed more than 20 points over the first 16 minutes of the second half.
 
TAMUK opened the second half scoring the first eight points, but Tarleton would counter with 11-0 run and pushed its lead to 42-29 with 8:12 left to play. The Javelinas would allow just one more field goal over the next four minutes though as the visiting team went on an 11-2 run to pull within four points of the Texans, down 44-40 with 4:30 left to play.
 
TAMUK's Jamahl Brown made a bucket with 3:35 left to play, but later De'Andre Upchurch would hit a fade-away jumper at the 2:33 mark to make it a 46-42 game. The Javelinas finally got back within two points of the Texas when Brown rolled in a layup with 1:40 left making it a 46-44 game.
 
The Texans had possession with less than 30 seconds left to play, and running down the clock Tarleon's Michael Hardge (G, Fr, Georgetown) had the ball stripped away with 23 seconds left on the clock. TAMUK looked to run a play, but Brian Word intercepted Rashad Basey's into the paint and immediately got the ball into Guy's hands where he was fouled with 09.66 left to play. Guy converted both free throw attempts and Tarleton led 48-46.
 
TAMUK would get a quick bucket from Basey with 04.69 left on the clock and Guy was immediately fouled again with :03.63 left to play. He again poured in both free throws and Tarleton's lead was again four points, up 50-46.
 
TAMUK's inbounds pass was tossed out of bounds and turned over to the Texans. Guy again fouled on the Texan inbounds play with 00.67 left on the clock, but he drained both and closed out the game with a 6-for-6 effort.
 
The win pushes Tarleton's overall record to 8-2 and 2-1 in LSC play. The Texans matched its season-high with its fourth straight win and in the process dropped TAMUK to 5-5 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
 
Pegues finished the contest with a game-high 13 points as Tarleton's defense did not allow a TAMUK player to score more than nine points. Guy finished with 12 points and Upchurch posted another double-digit effort with 10 points off the bench.
 
Jon Cathey-Macklin (F, Jr, Milwaukee, Wis.) led the squad with a career-high nine rebounds. He tied a career-high in blocks as well with three.
 
After out-rebounding the Javelinas in the first half, TAMUK won the battle of the boards in the final 20 minutes collecting 25 rebounds to Tarleton's 10 and finished the game with the rebounding advantage 37-28.
 
The Texans shot just 37.5 percent for the evening but improved to 1-1 on the season when shooting between 30 and 39 percent from the floor. After going 3-for-7 from downtown in the first half, the Texans made just one of six from beyond the three-point line in the second period. Tarleton's aggression going to the basket paid off though, going 12-for-18 from the charity stripe.
 
The Javelinas shot 42.0 percent from the field, but were just 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. TAMUK made just eight appearances at the charity stripe on the night and made just three shots.
 
The Texans return to action this Saturday, Jan. 5, making its first road appearance in over a month as the team travels to San Antonio to face Incarnate Word. Tarleton will play on the road in three out of the next four games they play. Tip-off on Saturday is set for 4 p.m. at McDermott Center in San Antonio.