STEPHENVILLE – No. 11 Tarleton aced another test against a nationally-ranked opponent by routing No. 12 West Texas A&M 91-73 in front of more than 2,300 fans on Thursday in Wisdom Gym.
 
The win put the Texans (16-2, 7-1) in sole possession of first place in the Lone Star Conference after coming in tied with West Texas A&M, who is now 18-3 overall and 6-2 in the LSC. Tarleton is now 3-0 this season against ranked opponents.
 
Five Texans scored in double figures, with Deshawn Riddick leading all scorers with 19 points. Tarleton came in leading the nation in opponent field goal percent (37.9 percent) and holding teams to an LSC-best 64 points. West Texas A&M was averaging over 91 points per game – led by David Chavlovich's 20.7 points per game – before they ran into the suffocating Texan defense. The result: WT's lowest scoring total of the season and a career-low three points for Chavlovich.
 
Tarleton built a double-digit lead in the first six minutes of the game, with Romond Jenkins scoring seven quick points and Chantz Chambers' 3-pointer giving the Texans a 15-3 advantage.
After Josh Hawley drilled a 3-pointer of his own, the 6-foot-7 freshman forward led a fast break with a lob to Jenkins for the dunk and a 22-8 lead. Jenkins recorded his tenth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds to go with two blocks. Tarleton improved to 10-0 this season when Jenkins has a double-double.
 
Tarleton's final 11 points of the half came at the free-throw line, which was a storyline throughout the game for both teams. The two teams combined for 95 free throws in the game. Tarleton set school records for shot and made free throws in the game, going 44-60 from the line. The previous record was 42-56 against LeTourneau (1994).
 
The Texans led 37-29 at the break while shooting 38 percent form the floor and holding WT to 26.9 percent shooting.
 
Tarleton opened the second half like they started the game with a tone-setting run. The Texans went on a 9-0 spurt to grab a 46-29 advantage. Ridell Camidge, who missed most of the first half with foul trouble, knocked down two straight 3-pointers and finished right at his season average of 17 points.
 
Riddick gave Tarleton a 20-point lead at 54-34 on a circus shot off the glass to beat the shot clock buzzer as part of an 8-0 run. After Hawley rewarded fellow big man Jenkins with an alley-oop earlier in the game, the favor was returned when 6-foot-8 post Curtiss Anderson lofted a pass to Hawley who finished with a thunderous 2-hand slam for a commanding 62-40 lead. Hawley scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds to go with a pair of blocks. Tarleton's lead never faded under 16 points in the final 12 minutes to close out the win.
 
 
Hawley and Jenkins weren't the only Texans to crash the boards, as Nosa Ebomwonyi came off the bench to pull down a career-high eight rebounds and tied a career-best with three assists. Tarleton outrebounded WT 43-29 and is 13-1 when they secure more rebounds than its opponent this season.
 
Chantz Chambers scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half and joined Riddick and Ebomwonyi with three assists to lead the team. Anthony Davis had four points and four rebounds for the Texans while Jacob Morales, Kealon Clayborne, Ebomwonyi and Anderson all had two points.
 
Tarleton finished the game shooting 48 percent while WT converted on only 35 percent of its shots, its worst shooting performance in LSC play this season.
 
Tarleton will host UT-Permian Basin on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m.