WICHITA FALLS – Tarleton is heading back to the Sweet Sixteen for the second straight season and the sixth time in program history with a 69-63 win over Lubbock Christian at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Sunday.

Tarleton will face Angelo State – a rematch of last season's regional final – on Tuesday, March 15 at 7 p.m. for a trip to the Elite Eight in Frisco.

The Texans used a second-half surge to outscore Lubbock Christian by nine and pull away. However, Tarleton's sharp shooting from behind the arc from a pair of seniors built the confidence of the Texans down the stretch.

Tarleton (23-8) was tied at 42 with 13:04 left in the game when EJ Reed sank a 3-pointer at the top of the arc for the lead and the Texans never looked back. Michael Hardge, who scored a game-high 18 points, drilled another three on the following possession for a six-point lead. After Chantz Chambers connected on an old-fashioned 3-point play, Malcolm Hamilton put the Tarleton fans on its feet with another 3-pointer and a 10-point lead with 7:51 to go.

All four players during the 12-2 run scored in double figures, with Reed, Hamilton, and Chambers each scoring 10 points apiece.

Before the second-half run, Tarleton had its hands full with a Lubbock Christian team playing with confidence after upsetting No. 1 seed Midwestern State the night before. LCU led by six with 8:43 to go before Tarleton would go on a 7-0 run to regain the advantage. LCU, however, would take a first-half lead at 33-30.

 It's only the fourth win of the season for Tarleton when trailing at the half (4-6), but the Texans remained confident with their ability to get quality shots. The Texans shot 54 percent from the floor in the game and improved to 16-0 on the season when they reach that mark.

Romond Jenkins was a force down low and the junior forward's put-back dunk gave Tarleton a 13-point lead with 5:43 remaining. Jenkins pulled down 10 rebounds for the seventh time this season and added eight points.

Charles Hill came off the bench and produced offensively for the second straight game. The senior guard scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. Xavier Smith and Jakob Damstra each had two points on offensive rebounds.

The Texans forced LCU to commit 14 turnovers while Tarleton only had 12. Tarleton improved to 15-2 this season when the commit less than 15 turnovers.