Box Score - First Round Highlights/Postgame Press Conference
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ALLEN, Texas – The Tarleton Texans jumped out to a 24-point halftime lead and despite Eastern New Mexico's relentlessness to give up, the Texans downed the Greyhounds 72-59 in quarterfinal round action of the Lone Star Conference Championship tournament at Allen Event Center in Allen on Thursday.
 
The Texans (18-9) and Greyhounds (12-15) had just two lead changes in the first 2:19 of action, and then following a brief stoppage in play, Tarleton regained the lead and never looked back. Brian Word's three-pointer with 16:48 to play in the first period sparked an 8-0 run and the Greyhounds would not be able to recover.
 
After extending the lead to eight points on a layup from Chuck Guy, ENMU got back to within five points on a three-pointer from Jordan Romero, but then it was all Texans.
 
ENMU got back to within six points down 17-11 with 10:53 left to play, but Tarleton closed out the first half on a 26-8 run and take a 43-19 lead into the locker room. During that span, the Tarleton's De'Andre Upchurch sparked a 13-0 run for the Texans with his three-pointer at the 8:23 mark.
 
 The Greyhounds would not score until 2:48 left in the half and made just two field goals total over the final nine minutes of the period.
 
The Texans went 7-for-10 from beyond the arc in the first half and out-rebounded ENMU 23-19. Tarleton had nine second-chance points as well. The Texans were limited to just three turnovers in the first half and forced nine Greyhound turnovers in which they turned into 13 points.
 
ENMU came out of the halftime break and scored four of the second period's first six points, but Tarleton called a timeout and got back onto the board with a pair of free throws from Coleman Furst with 16:48 left in the game.
 
A few moments later, Upchurch poured in a layup after driving the baseline with less than 16 minutes to play and gave Tarleton a 49-26 advantage. Guy then got a steal at midcourt and took it back in for a fast-break layup to extend Tarleton's lead to 25 points.
 
The Texans led by as many as 27 points with 14:17 left to play, up 53-26 following a jumper from Guy, but ENMU's Rodney Blackmon started to take over for the Greyhounds. Blackmon made it just a 16-pont game with his three-pointer at 7:29. Tarleton's lead dwindled to just 61-45 following the basket from downtown.
 
Romero poured in a layup for the Greyhounds with 2:38 left in the game to make it just a 13-point game, and Blackmon followed with a steal and a layup with 2:29 left to go. His bucket made it a 65-54 game and ENMU called a timeout after the play.
 
Tarleton would later go back up by 14 on a free throw shot from Guy and then Blackmon followed with another three-pointer, but Upchurch closed out the game's final scoring with his free throws and Tarleton drained the clock to preserve the 13-point win, 72-59.
 
Tarleton finished the game shooting 40.7 percent from the field, 47.1 percent from beyond the arc and 61.5 percent from the free throw line. The Texans had just 10 turnovers in the game and eventually tied the Greyhounds on the boards as both teams collected 40 rebounds each on the day.
 
Guy led the Texans with his 15 points and Furst followed with 14 points. Upchurch had 12 points and Jon Cathey-Macklin came just a point shy of recording a double-double with his game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Blackmon led all players with 26 points, going 7-for-14 from the field, which included making 4-of-6 shots from downtown. Phil Henry came off the bench for the Greyhounds and scored 12 points.
 
The Texans will meet West Texas A&M for the second time in less than a week as the two teams face each other on Friday in the semifinal round. The No. 7 seeded Buffs and No. 3 seeded Texans are scheduled to tip-off at 2:30 p.m. inside Allen Event Center.