Box Score - Post-Game Press Conference
STEPHENVILLE, Texas – The No. 4 Tarleton State Texans (17-0, 6-0 LSC) tied a school-record with its 17th straight win in a 86-64 Lone Star Conference victory over the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds (9-7, 3-3 LSC) Saturday night at Wisdom Gym in Stephenville.
The last time a Tarleton team recorded 17 consecutive wins was during the 2011-12 season and it also matches the 17 straight wins that the Texans registered in 1990-91. The win also extends Tarleton's best start in program history, moving to 17-0 overall.
De'Andre Upchurch paced the Texan offense with a game-high 23, while
Chuck Guy logged his first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 11 assists.
Emmanuel Andrews poured in 13 points for the Texans off the bench and
Tashawn Mabry tallied 10 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
The Texans shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and then bettered that mark with a 59.1 percent effort in the final 20 minutes of play. Tarleton was better than 50 percent from downtown for the third time this season as the team went 11-for-19 for a 57.9 percent effort from beyond the arc.
The Greyhounds shot just 39.6 percent from the field on Saturday, which included Tarleton's defense limiting ENMU to just a 7-for-30 effort from the floor in the first half.
The Texans opened the game with a 22-3 run over the first eight minutes of play later led by as many as 29 points, up 40-11 with 4:48 left to play in the first half. ENMU's offense struggled to just 3-for-25 shooting (.120) during that span and had of a pair of droughts that lasted over seven minutes without a field goal.
The Greyhounds poured in its first bucket of the game at the 19:02 mark and then did not score its next field goal until there was 11:57 showing on the clock. ENMU then missed its next 11 field goal attempts before Davone Davis halted the cold streak with his lay-up at the 5:07 mark.
ENMU managed to outscore the Texans 43-41 in the second half, but the Greyhounds never cut the deficit to lower than 21 points. ENMU's Davone Davis poured in a lay-up with 10:53 remaining, making it a 66-45 game at the time, but Tarleton seemed to match ENMU with every other possession.
Thee Texans have scored at least 75 points or more in all 17 games this season following tonight's 86-point effort. Tarleton, who came into tonight's game leading the LSC with 89.8 points per game, has scored 85 points or more in 10 of those 17 contests.
Tarleton out-rebounded its opposition for the third straight game and 11th overall on the season, pulling down 32 boards to ENMU's 28 rebounds on the night. The Texans had just eight turnovers in the game and ENMU was only able to get four points off those miscues. Tarleton, meanwhile, forced 11 ENMU turnovers, which they turned into nine points at the other end of the court.
Over the past three games, Tarleton has won by an average of 23.3 points and are shooting 51.0 percent from the field during that span. The Texan bench, who outscored ENMU 35-10 on Saturday, continues to show its depth as the team has outscored its opponents 110-44 over the last three contests.
The Texans won its 19th straight game inside Wisdom Gym and will be looking to tie the program's third longest streak of 20 straight wins at home next Saturday, Feb. 1, when A&M-Commerce visits. The Texans and Lions are scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. in Stephenville.
