GAME DAY INFORMATION

When: Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015 | 6 p.m. (CST)

Where: Commerce, Texas | Field House

Series: Texans lead 25-16 since 1988 | Streak: TSU, Won 1

Last Meeting: TSU 84, TAMUC 72 on March 7, 2014 in Allen

FOLLOW THE ACTION

Radio: Tarleton Sports Network on KTRL 90.5 FM | Listen Live

Pregame Coverage: Pregame Show begins 15 minutes before tip off

Web Stream: LionAthletics.com/Watch

Social Media: Facebook | Twitter

Live Stats | Game Notes

THE GAME
National and conference powers collide in Commerce Saturday evening when No. 12 Tarleton State and No. 25 Texas A&M-Commerce take the floor in a Lone Star Conference showdown at 6 p.m. in the Field House.
 
THE BROADCAST
The game will have a live radio broadcast presented by the Tarleton Sports Network presented by North Texas Ford Dealers. The Voice of the Texans, Casey Hogan, will be back calling the play-by-play for Tarleton basketball this season. The broadcast can be heard on KTRL 90.5 FM in Stephenville and surrounding areas or online at TarletonSports.com/ListenLive. The pregame show will begin 15 minutes prior to tip-off.
 
THE SERIES
The senior-college era series began between Tarleton State and Texas A&M-Commerce in 1962 when the Lions were still East Texas State. Commerce won 13 of the first 17 games before Lonn Reisman arrived at Tarleton, but Tarleton leads the series 25-16 since the current Texan coach took over the program in 1988. Tarleton won the first four games of the Reisman era prior to joining the NCAA in 1994. Commerce answered back by winning 10 of the next 15 games until 2002. An 82-63 win by Tarleton in Commerce on Jan. 24, 2002 turned the tide of the series and was the first of 16 wins of the next 22 meetings, entering Saturday's game.
 
THE OPPONENT
Texas A&M-Commerce enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 15-4, including a perfect 8-0 mark at the Field House. The Lions are also a recent addition into the NABC National Top-25 rankings after debuting at No. 25 in the latest release. The Lions are led by Darrell Williams with 17.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game while LaDon Carnegie (16.4) and Anthony Adams (11.9) are also averaging double figures. Commerce is coming off a Wednesday night loss to Angelo State.
 
BATTLE OF NATIONAL POWERS
For the first time in the two-decade history as NCAA rivals, the Texans and Lions will play each other as nationally ranked opponents. This is also just the second time the two teams were ranked at the same time in the season, joining last year's December 3 release when Commerce was No. 25 and Tarleton was No. 14.
 
A LOOK BACK
Before Commerce entered the national rankings in December 2013, the last game the Lions played as a ranked team came on March 15, 2005 against Tarleton when the Texans upset the Lions in Commerce in the South Central Regional Championship to advance to their first Elite Eight.
 
TARLETON IN THE LSC
Tarleton State has developed into one of the premier basketball programs in the nation, as well as within the Lone Star Conference. Lonn Reisman is the only Texan coach to lead Tarleton through the LSC as an NCAA coach. He has amassed a record of 183-93 in Tarleton's 20 years as an NCAA conference member. Reisman and the Texans have won three LSC regular season championships, three LSC championship tournament title - including the last two - and has also won at least 10 conference games in four straight seasons.
 
TARLETON IN NATIONAL POLLS
After starting the season ranked No. 12 in the nation, Tarleton State moved up nine total spots to No. 3 over the first 12 games of the season. They have since slipped back to where they started at No. 12 in the latest poll. This now marks the 28th consecutive week in which Tarleton has appeared in the national rankings since joining the polls on Nov. 19, 2013.
 
NABC HISTORY
Of the 96 weeks in the NABC rankings, Tarleton has spent 59 of those weeks in the top 10, 39 in the top 5 and eight weeks at No. 1.
 
RANKINGS BY THE MEDIA
The D2 Media Poll, sponsored by D2SIDA in its first year, has a regional poll released every Monday, followed by a national poll every Tuesday. Each region has two representatives that comprise the regional poll. The Texans are tied for No. 25 in the latest media-voted ranking.
 
REISMAN IN JANUARY
Since his debut season as the head coach of Tarleton State in 1988, Lonn Reisman and the Texans have played 239 January games and amassed a record of 171-68 for a January winning percentage of .715. He is 70-29 (.705) against teams who are not current LSC teams in January and 101-39 (.721) against current LSC rivals in the month of January, including 14-5 against Commerce.
 
REISMAN MOVES UP ALL-TIME LIST
After starting the season No. 26 on the all-time wins list for Division II Head Coaches, Lonn Reisman has moved into a tie for 22nd all-time with Rich Glas (575), the active head coach of Concordia (MN). Only two of the active coaches in the top-23 won their last game - the Division II all-time leader Herb Magee (998) and Reisman.
 
AMONG THE BEST OF THE DECADE
Tarleton State's Davene Carter and Michael Hardge are putting up numbers that have them among the best Texans to play for the Purple and White since the 2005-06 season:
• Carter is one of 10 players to top the 600-point marker over the past decade. With 11 more points, he'll pass Devon Hills (628) for ninth most in the last 10 years.
• Hardge has the sixth most assists over the last decade with 149 and is 17 dimes shy of passing Coleman Furst (165) for fifth most over that span.
• Carter's 78 blocked shots are the third most since 2005. He is 12 away from passing Terrence Gamble (89) for second most over that span and 17 from topping Jon Cathey-Macklin (94) with the most blocks of the decade.
 
TOPS IN THE NATION
Tarleton State ranks among the nations best in multiple statistical categories, including:
• No. 6 in scoring defense (60.8 ppg)
• No. 17 in Scoring Margin (14.9)
• No. 24 in FG Defense (.399)
• No. 26 in Total Blocks (73)
• No. 30 in Blocked Shots per game (4.6)
• No. 29 in turnover margin (3.8; 281-220)
• No. 17 in 3-pt Defense (.305)
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
One of the state's greatest basketball rivalries will add another chapter to its storied history when Tarleton State travels to Wichita Falls for a 5:30 p.m. contest with Midwestern State at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.