Tarleon fans knew Davene Carter could dunk. Now the entire country got to witness the leaping abilities from the Texan senior after Carter participated in the Denny's NCAA Slam Dunk contest on ESPN at the Hinkle Fieldhouse, home to Butler University.
 
In order to get into the dunk contest, Carter had to win a dunk-off against West Texas A&M's Antjuan Ball in the opening round that was determined solely off Twitter votes.
 
Carter completed his first dunk with the help from Texan guard Mercedes Lane by throwing the ball off the side of the backboard and catching it to throw down a windmill dunk.
 
After an hour of online voting, Carter was announced the winner of the dunk-off and moved on to the field of eight in the dunk contest.
 
In the opening round, Carter's right-handed windmill dunk that got his head above the rim won the approval of the judges and Twitter voters to advance him into the semifinals.
 
The judges were former Indianapolis Colts All-Pro wide receiver Reggie Wayne, Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, ESPN analyst Jay Williams and WNBA star Katie Douglass.
 
"Well number one I want to thank our fans," Tarleton basketball coach Lonn Reisman said, who was in attendance at Hinkle Fieldhouse. "They just did a tremendous job. Everybody that was involved with the voting for (Davene) Carter, I'm just extremely proud of the enthusiasm and the loyalty and the Tarleton family.
 
"I thought Carter did a great job representing Tarleton State University. I thought it was great exposure and great visibility. There are 15,000-plus fans here to watch everything. You know, we were in the Final Four last week in Evansville on national television, and we're on national television on ESPN tonight. I think people know where Tarleton State University is in Stephenville, Texas."
 
In the semifinals, Carter got two dunks. Carter was unsuccessful on his first attempt, but was able to convert on his second dunk with a 360-degree spin and elevating his 6-foot-6 body above the rim to throw a right-handed dunk down.
 
Although Carter didn't advance to the final round, he finished third among eight Division I players.
 
"First off, I'd like to thank God, because without him none of this would be possible," Carter said.  "Secondly, I'd like to thank all the fans for all the support. Tarleton, I appreciate everything. I'm sorry I couldn't bring home the (championship) belt, but I tried to do as much as I could to put y'all on the map before I left."

Carter finished his senior year with the Texans averaging 6.9 points per game, 4.7 rebounds and team-high 40 blocks while helping Tarleton win the Lone Star Conference Championship and go to the NCAA Division II Final Four for the second time in school history.