STEPHENVILLE -- No. 1 Tarleton got back to its winning ways with a convincing 88-71 win over Ouachita Baptist on Saturday at Wisdom Gym.
 
The Texans improved to 21-4 over the last five seasons after a loss. Tarleton (5-1) hasn't lost two straight games since a four-game skid in 2012-13 – a stretch of 88 straight games.
 
Ouachita Baptist couldn't miss to start the game by making its first six shots for an early 15-9 lead. Tarleton got back into the game at the free-throw line, making eight straight over a minute and a half span to take its first lead at 19-18. The Texans went 12-of-13 from the free-throw line in the first half.
 
Leading 33-31 with 2:30 left in the half, Tarleton went on a 7-0 run with layups from Malcolm Hamilton, EJ Reed and a 3-pointer from Charles Hill. Chantz Chambers drilled another 3-point basket in the closing seconds of the half for a 44-34 halftime edge.
 
The Texans shot a blistering 60 percent from the field in the first half, including 40 percent on 3's and 92 percent at the free-throw line to build the double-digit lead.
 
Hamilton scored nine straight points for Tarleton in the second half that was highlighted by an alley-oop dunk from Hill to pad the lead to 62-48 with 12 minutes left. Hamilton recorded his first double-double with a career-high 11 rebounds along with 16 points and a team-best three steals.
 
Hill's pull-up 3-pointer and one-handed dunk helped put the game away for Tarleton, building a 76-60 advantage with five minutes left. Hill finished with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
 
Reed, who leads the Lone Star Conference with 21.8 points per game and 9.8 rebounds, finished with a team-high 19 points and five rebounds.
 
Xavier Smith, coming off career highs in points and rebounds, continues to be a defensive presence off the bench for Tarleton, blocking a game-high three shots and adding eight points and five rebounds.
 
Chambers poured in a career-best 15 points on 3-of-4 from the field and 7-of-8 on free throws. Tarleton had four players with 15 or more points.
 
Michael Hardge recorded a team-high five assists and scored eight points. Deshawn Riddick had four points and three assists.
 
The Texans shot a season-best 58 percent from the floor and 83 percent from the free-throw line (26-of-31) in the win.
 
Defensively, Tarleton held the Tigers (1-5) to 38 percent shooting, the third time the Texans have held an opponent to under 40 percent shooting.