WICHITA FALLS – When Tarleton suffered a one-point loss in double overtime to then-No. 20 Angelo State 34 days ago, Lonn Reisman challenged his team to rise to the occasion or risk missing out on the NCAA playoffs entirely.
 
The 28^th-year head coach said he needed to "push the right buttons" to get the best out of his team, who was sitting with a record of 16-7 and a 5-5 mark in Lone Star Conference play with four games and the LSC Tournament left on the schedule.
 
"(After the double-overtime loss) We were at a crossroads," said Reisman. "We were trying to find the right buttons to push. I've been in this for a long, long time and for about three or four days – for the first time in my career – we were looking for that button to push. Praise God, it worked."
 
Whatever buttons he and his coaching staff pushed, his 28^th Texan Basketball Team responded.
 
Tarleton won five of its next six games to secure the No. 4 seed in the South Central regional tournament, where the possibilities of heated rivalries loomed large. After the first two rounds of the tournament, the Texans found themselves matched up with Angelo State – who happened to be responsible for Tarleton's only two losses since February 10 – for the second straight season with a trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight on the line.
 
A matchup that also set up the first rematch of the South Central Regional championship game since 1987.
 
So needless to say, the game wasn't without storylines.
 
On March 15, 2016 inside the dome of D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Tarleton punched its ticket to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the second straight season after defeating the Rams 77-72. The Texans are the only repeat team in the Elite Eight from last season.
 
"The big thing is they're going to have to put up with me in practice a little bit longer," said Reisman. "I'm not an easy guy to play for. I'm old school, I'm tough on them, and as many years as I've been in this I am not going to change and they know it. I appreciate them hanging with me when I explode and I appreciate them being a part of this program and being the men they are.
 
"A lot of credit to Angelo State University," he added. "They have a very good basketball team. They are very well coached and they gave an outstanding performance tonight. They have had a great year and it's a shame that only one team from this region gets to go forward, but I'm very happy that its us."
 
Tarleton (24-8) clinched its Lone Star Conference record fourth Regional championship and will head to Frisco for the Elite Eight – the first time the Division II tournament has been held in the state of Texas – which begins March 23.
 
The Texans and Rams were meeting for the fourth time this season and the third time in ten games, with Angelo State having won the last two.  The two teams have scouted each other's strategies up and down, and it showed through the first half with the score tied at 38 after the first twenty minutes.
 
Tarleton's starting five – Malcolm Hamilton (17 points), Michael Hardge (16), EJ Reed (13), Chantz Chambers (13), and Romond Jenkins (10)– played a huge role offensively, combining to score 69 of the team's 77 points. Tarleton shot an impressive 56 percent from the floor and 45 percent from behind the arc in the first half – which makes this the best offensive performance by Tarleton in its six regional championship appearances.
 
In the second half, the Texans picked up a pair of technical fouls in the first five minutes of the half to give Angelo State its biggest lead of the game at 44-40 with 17:45 to go. But the Texans were the experienced bunch and Reisman regrouped his team.
 
Charles Hill drained a three-pointer in front of the Texan bench and Jenkins followed with a layup off an offensive board for a 7-point lead. However, the Rams, as they've done all season, found a way to climb back in the game. Having been in this situation before, Tarleton looked like the team that knew how to handle the pressure down the stretch after the two squads were tied at 62 with 4:27 remaining.
 
Six straight points from Chambers, Jenkins, and Hamilton gave Tarleton a 68-62 advantage and forced Angelo State into a timeout. After Hardge, Reed, and Chambers combined to hit five free throws, Hardge – having returned to the court after sitting most of the second half with four fouls – threw down a fast-break two-handed dunk that put the dagger in the Dome.
 
Tarleton will play Augustana (S.D.) in the Elite Eight at the Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco at 6 p.m. CST. Augustana is currently ranked No. 3 in the NABC National Coaches poll and boasts the No. 6 scoring offense in the nation, making the meeting a battle of a top-10 national offense and Tarleton's No. 10-ranked scoring defense. Augustana (S.D.) won its first regional championship and will represent the Central region after defeating Northwest Missouri State in the title game 80-78 Tuesday.