STEPHENVILLE – No. 12 Tarleton closed out the 2015 calendar year in style by cruising to an 81-55 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State on Thursday in Wisdom Gym.
 
Tarleton improved to 10-2 on the season in the final game before Lone Star Conference play starts on Saturday, Jan. 2 in a home game against Cameron at 7 p.m. The win also gave head coach Lonn Reisman 599 career wins. Reisman looks to add to his illustrious career and become the sixth active Division II head coach and 16^th all-time to win 600 career games.
 
Although the Texans were undersized compared to SOSU, Tarleton attacked the basket offensively early on and it paid off, resulting in a 17-7 lead in the first six minutes of play with 12 of the points coming in the paint.
 
Michael Hardge, who also had six assists in the game, scored seven of his 18 points in the first five minutes to give Tarleton the quick double-digit lead.
 
Right behind Hardge was junior forward Romond Jenkins, who scored six of the team's first 12 points, all coming in the paint. Jenkins finished with a career-high eight points and added seven rebounds in his fourth game with Tarleton.
 
SOSU was able to make it a two-point game at 27-25 with 5:30 to go in the first half, but Hardge drilled his second three-pointer of the first half to jumpstart a 12-0 Tarleton run.
 
The Texans took a 43-30 lead into the locker room, making tonight's game the eighth time this season that Tarleton had a double-digit lead at the break.
 
In the one-sided first half, Tarleton shot 52 percent from the floor and more importantly, the Texans were actively moving the ball against the Savage Storm's zone defense that resulted in 10 first-half assists on its 19 field goals.
 
Tarleton opened the second half on a 7-1 run that was highlighted by Hardge's steal and lob pass to Xavier Smith for the two-handed dunk. Smith led all scorers off the bench with eight points and grabbed five rebounds along with two blocks.
 
The Texans were devoted to the defensive end as usual and it resulted in 11 steals, led by Hardge matching a career best with five steals. Charles Hill and Jacob Morales each added two steals.
 
Nosa Ebomwonyi came off the bench to score six points, all of which came on three-pointers. Ebomwonyi's second long ball gave Tarleton a 57-38 lead with 13:09 to go.
 
EJ Reed, the LSC leader in points per game at 20.1, was right at his season average with 20 points on the night – the senior's seventh 20-point game of the year. Reed snagged eight rebounds and was an efficient 8-of-12 from the floor.
 
Deshawn Riddick dished out career-high six assists and connected on a pair of three-pointers. Riddick has recorded at least four assists in three of the last five games.
 
Charles Hill scored seven points and Malcolm Hamilton added five points to go with a game-high 10 rebounds. Jacob Morales scored three points to cap off Tarleton's 23 points off the bench.
 
The Texans shot 45 percent from the floor and held SOSU to 39 percent shooting, the seventh time this season Tarleton has limited opponents to less than 40 percent shooting.
 
Tarleton finished with 44 points in the paint compared to 16 for SOSU and 30 points off turnovers while limiting the Savage Storm to only five.
 
Tarleton is now 22-4 after a loss over the last five seasons. The Texans haven't lost two straight games since 2012-13, which spans over 94 games.
 
Tonight's win was Tarleton's 15^th straight over SOSU and improved 18-1 all-time against the Savage Storm in the NCAA era.