STEPHENVILLE – The winningest season in Tarleton State basketball history keeps getting sweeter.
 
Tarleton State is heading to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2006 after a thrilling 66-64 victory over Lone Star Conference rival Angelo State in the Sweet 16 at Wisdom Gym.
 
"First of all, I'd like to give God all the glory for the win," said head coach Lonn Reisman. "I've been blessed to coach a great group of young men this season and it is truly a blessing. I can't say enough about what it means to be able to take this group – especially these seniors – to the Elite Eight. I've been there twice and it's so hard to get there. I know because I've waited seven years to even get the opportunity to play in this game and even longer to play an Elite Eight. It's great to be able to share that with this group."
 
The Texans also established a school record for wins in a season at 30-3.
 
Defensive stops have been the story for the Texans all season long. No stop was needed more than when Angelo State's Marsell Holden missed a free throw with two seconds left and Tarleton leading by two. The Texans swarmed the Rams on the offensive rebound put-back attempt that fell short at the final buzzer.
 
This was the third meeting on the season for Tarleton and Angelo, with both teams winning at home during the regular season.
 
Angelo's Tommy Woolridge converted a 4-point play that gave the Rams a 42-39 lead with 13:36 to go. Tarleton responded with a 12-2 run that gave them the biggest lead of the game at 51-44 and never trailed again.
 
During the 10-point swing, Tarleton's EJ Reed drove the baseline for a one-handed slam and two minutes later, Davene Carter caught a Michael Hardge pass and finished by throwing down another dunk that lead to an Angelo State timeout and the sold-out crowd at Wisdom Gym erupting.
 
"I am so proud of the Tarleton family," said Reisman. "I'm so thankful for this type of support. Our players have worked hard and earned a game like this and our fans deserved a game like this. Tonight, our Tarleton family turned out. This was more than a win for our basketball team – it was a win for Tarleton State University, the Stephenville community and our fans."
 
The momentum-building dunks kept coming for the Texans. With Tarleton leading 60-58 with a minute to go, Mo Lee lobbed a pass to Malcolm Hamilton for an alley-oop dunk.
 
Hamilton scored five of his nine points in the final minute of the game, with none bigger than his 3-point basket on the next Tarleton possession to give the Texans a 62-58 lead.
 
Lee, however, wasn't finished. The senior guard, who was named the South Central Regional Tournament MVP, blew past the Angelo defender for the layup and a 3-point lead with 30 seconds to go.
 
Lee finished with a team-high 14 points.
 
After Angelo's Chris Jones missed two free throws with eight seconds left that would have tied the game, the Rams fouled Reed who followed by sinking both free throws to seal the win for the Texans.
 
Reed gave the Texans 12 points and added a game-high eight rebounds.
 
The Texans led 29-27 in a back-and-forth first half and the second half was just as close, featuring eight lead changes throughout the game.
 
Senior Davene Carter was named to the South Central Regional All-Tournament team and added nine points and seven rebounds for the Texans.
 
Tarleton State will head to Evansville, Ind. to matchup with Mount Olive (N.C.) in the Elite 8 on March 25 at a time to be determined.