Box Score STEPHENVILLE – The No. 3-ranked Tarleton State Texans erased a six-point first half deficit and overcame West Texas A&M shooting 75 percent from the three-point line to come away with an 81-68 Lone Star Conference victory over the Buffs Wednesday night at Wisdom Gym in Stephenville.
 
The Texans had four players in double-figures, but it was Jon Cathey-Macklin that may have registered his best game of the season, pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds and pouring in eight points as well. The senior forward also tallied three blocks on the night.
 
Tashawn Mabry led the Texans with 15 points off the bench and De'Andre Upchurch poured in 13 points. Davene Carter added 12 points, while Mohammed Lee tallied 11 points on the evening.
 
The Texans had just three leads over the first 20 minutes of play as WTAMU knocked down its first seven three-pointers of the night and was 9-for-12 from beyond the arc as the Buffs headed into halftime with a 39-27 first-half lead.
 
Tarleton opened the second half with a 10-6 run though and took a 47-45 lead with 15:57 left to play. WT scored on its next possession to tie the game up, but Tarleton came right back with a 9-0 run to take a 56-47 lead with under 13:30 left in the contest.
 
The Buff would manage to get the game back to within three points at the 9:26 mark, down 60-57, but Tarleton outscored the visiting squad 21-11 down the stretch for the 13-point victory.
 
After coming into the season down 19-23 in the all-time series, the Texans are now just two wins against the Buffs from tying a series that dates back to 1994. Tarleton has won three straight against the Buffs and five the past six contests.
 
WT's Drimir Ferguson paced the Buffs' offense with a game-high 24 points and Tez Dumars added 11 points on the night.
 
The Texans out-rebounded the Buffs 42-23 and outscored them 29-15 in second-chance points. WT, who mainly played just a seven-man rotation, was outscored in bench points 43-15 in the contest.
 
Tarleton shot 50 percent from the field, which included a 53.8 percent effort from beyond the arc. After shooting 75 percent from downtown in the first half, WT cooled off in the final half and finished the game 12-for-20 from behind the arc.
 
The Texans finished the game with six blocks as Carter matched Cathey-Macklin's three-block total in the game.
 
Tarleton will head back on the road this Saturday as the team travels to Eastern New Mexico to face the Greyhounds in its second-to-last conference contest of the season. The Texans and Greyhounds will tip-off from Greyhound Arena at 8 p.m. (CST) on Saturday.