WICHITA FALLS – No. 6 Tarleton dropped its first Lone Star Conference game of the season Wednesday night when the Texans fell to No. 4 Midwestern State at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
 
"It seems like it's like this every time we play (Midwestern State). It always seems like it goes down to the last shot," said head coach Lonn Reisman. "We executed the play we drew up with three seconds left and we got a shot out of it – and that's all you can ask for is a shot.
 
"I told the guys in the locker room, this is only January 13," he continued. "There is a lot of basketball left. We came into a very hostile environment, took the lead a couple of times and couldn't hold them, and now we'll go back to work and get better before we see them again."
 
Tarleton had a chance to force overtime with the final shot of regulation, which may not have been so obvious when the Texans trailed by seven points with 0:49 seconds on the clock.
 
The No. 6-ranked Texans, however, would not go quietly into the night.
 
Charles Hill, who scored a career high 25 points Wednesday night, started the comeback with an old-fashioned three-point play to pull within four at 59-63 with 0:35 seconds left. Midwestern State committed a charging foul – much to the disliking of Mustang head coach, who drew a technical foul after the call, and sent Hill back to the free throw line for one free throw. The senior from Fort Worth hit the shot and made it a one-possession game with 0:29 seconds left on the clock.
 
After a layup by Midwestern State, Hill drilled his third three-pointer of the ballgame with five seconds left to pull Tarleton within two at 65-63.
 
"I sure hope (this is the turning point for Hill)," said Reisman. "For me, it wasn't just about his scoring, it was about his emotion. He really wanted to win this game. I saw something out of Charles tonight and I just think great competition brings the best out of him."
 
Hill finished the game shooting 6-14 from the floor, including 3-10 from beyond the arc, and 10-10 from the charity stripe. The senior from Fort Worth also added four rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
 
After Midwestern State went 1-2 at the charity stripe to make it a 66-63 advantage, Tarleton got one final look at a game-tying three ball that missed off the rim at the buzzer.
 
The Texans went into halftime down just two points, but came out of the break on fire as Tarleton opened the second half on a 13-2 run over the opening 2:14 to take a 46-36 lead. Midwestern answered right back with a 19-3 run of its own to take a 55-49 advantage with 4:36 to go. The Texans pulled within four points on three different occasions over the next three minutes before making things interesting with Hill's seven points in the final minute.
 
EJ Reed, the Lone Star Conference's leading scorer and rebounder, finished the game with his ninth double-double of the season. The senior from Mesquite went for 18 points on 6-14 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds. He also had a block a two assists.
 
The next closest Tarleton scorer was Michael Hardge with eight points while Deshawn Riddick added six off the bench. Malcolm Hamilton, Romond Jenkins, and Xavier Smith each had two points.
 
For the game, Tarleton dominated the glass by outrebounding the Mustangs 42-31, including a 16-12 advantage on the offensive boards.
 
The Texans (13-3, 3-1 LSC) will have a weekend away from the hardwood before returning to action in the friendly confines of Wisdom Gym on Wednesday, January 20 at 7:30 p.m. against Eastern New Mexico.