STEPHENVILLE – Rivalry games always bring out the best in both teams. When Tarleton and Midwestern State match up, it's no different and you know the game is going to come down to the final possession.
 
Tarleton trailed 65-64 after a go-ahead dunk by Midwestern's Trevor Fuller with eight seconds left. Coach Lonn Reisman opted not to take a timeout and put his trust in senior guard Michael Hardge.
 
Hardge drove coast-to-coast and laid in the game-winning bucket with three seconds left to give Tarleton a 66-65 victory over No. 11 Midwestern.
 
"I didn't want a repeat of last game," said Hardge about Tarleton's last game against A&M-Commerce where the Texans had a chance to win at the buzzer.
 
Tarleton came in having lost three out of its last five, a stretch that hasn't happened since 2013. "This game was very important for us to get back on track," said Hardge, who scored nine points and had two assists. "All good teams go through adversity and we have to pull together through tough times."
 
The win gave Tarleton (16-5, 5-3 in the Lone Star Conference) three wins over ranked opponents this season.
 
Prior to Midwestern State's one-point lead in the final second, Deshawn Riddick was fouled on a 3-point attempt with the Texans down 63-61 and 20 seconds left. As a team, Tarleton was 7-of-19 from the free-throw line when Riddick went to the charity stripe with the chance to give the Texans the lead. There was never any doubt for Riddick, a 75 percent free-throw shooter on the season, as the sophomore guard drained all three free throws.
 
"We came together as a team and said 'If we're going to turn this thing around, it had to be now,'" said Riddick, who finished with 11 points and four assists.
 
The last nine meetings between Tarleton and Midwestern have featured all games decided by six points or less – six coming by three or less – and the Texans winning five of nine. The average score in those nine games: Tarleton 68.1, Midwestern State 67.6.
 
Tarleton led by as many as eight in the first half and took a 34-27 lead into the locker room. It was the largest first-half deficit for Midwestern (16-4, 5-3) in Lone Star Conference play this season. Tarleton shot 40 percent from the floor and 50 percent on 3-pointers to build the lead.
 
Midwestern opened the second half on a 5-0 run but Malcolm Hamilton didn't miss a beat after missing the last two games. Hamilton drilled back-to-back 3-pointers that jump-started a 10-4 run for the Texans and a 44-36 lead with 16 minutes to go. Hamilton scored nine points for Tarleton.
The Mustangs, however, would responded with a 15-0 run and take its biggest lead at 55-48 with 7:35 remaining.
 
EJ Reed scored a team-high 15 points, but none were bigger than his 3-pointer to give Tarleton a 61-59 lead that got a sold-out Wisdom Gym crowd on its feet with 1:54 to go and got his team's confidence back up to finish the game on top.
 
Romond Jenkins pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds – five on the offensive end – and added eight points along with a pair of blocks. Charles Hill scored six points and Chantz Chambers and Xavier Smith added four points apiece off the bench.
 
Three other teams are tied with Tarleton atop the Lone Star Conference with three losses. Tarleton will travel to Lawton, Oklahoma to take on Cameron, who is 6-3 in the LSC, on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 4 p.m.