COMMERCE – After dropping a double-overtime heartbreaker on the road in San Angelo on February 10, Tarleton head coach Lonn Reisman said that Tarleton needed to focus on the "four-game season" in front of them.
 
Saturday night in Commerce, the Texans put an exclamation point on that particular note from their 28^th-year head coach by defeating Texas A&M-Commerce 88-74 at the Field House.
 
"After we lost that heartbreaker to Angelo State, I told these guys they had a four-game season and they rose to that challenge," said head coach Lonn Reisman. "We made adjustments on offense and our defense has really stepped up. Malcolm Hamilton is really igniting our defense right now. We're playing really well right now and I would love to see this team get in the regional tournament and see what they can do."
 
The Lions, who recognized their seniors prior to the contest, jumped out to a quick lead and carried the advantage over the opening 10 minutes before Tarleton seniors Michael Hardge and EJ Reed turned the tide. Hardge hit a free throw and Reed drilled a triple off a dish from Charles Hill to tie the game at 21-21 with 9:32 in the opening half.
 
After Commerce took its final lead of the game at 24-23 two possessions later, Nosa Ebomwonyi put Tarleton on top for good.
 
The sophomore from Pflugerville connected on a layup for a 25-24 lead to start a 12-1 Texan run over the next four minutes to extend the Tarleton lead to double figures for the first time in the game. Tarleton maintained at least a five-point lead in the final minute before a pair of Hardge free throws sent the Texans into the break with a seven-point lead.  Hardge scored seven of his 15 points in the first half while Ebomwonyi would add a second-half three-pointer to finish the game with five points.
 
Out of the break, Tarleton continued to pour it on.
 
The Texans scored the first five points of the second half to extend the lead to 12 and never led by single digits again. The Texans steadily continued to add on to their lead over the second half – pumping their lead to as many as 22 following a Deshawn Riddick triple with 4:43 left in the game to all but seal the deal for Tarleton.
 
The win gives Tarleton 20 wins in a season for the 13^th time since joining the NCAA in 1994 as well as marking the 200^th all-time win in Lone Star Conference play for head coach Lonn Reisman.
 
E.J. Reed led Tarleton with 19 points as he, Hardge, Malcolm Hamilton (13), and Chantz Chambers (11) all finished in double figures. Charles Hill scored eight and Romond Jenkins added seven to round out the starting five's scoring while Riddick (9) and Jakob Damstra (1) added 10 points off the bench to go along with the 16 from Ebomwonyi and Chambers. As a team, Tarleton shot .492 from the field and .357 from downtown.
 
Jenkins grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the way on the boards for Tarleton.
 
The Texans will await the conclusion of Saturday night's Lone Star Conference games to determine their fate as the No. 2 or 3 seed in the LSC Championship Tournament next week.