WICHITA FALLS – What is a rivalry? Google defines it as a "competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field."
 
Basketball fans in the entire state of Texas may be hard-pressed to find a better rivalry than the one that lives two hours apart on Highway 281 between Stephenville and Wichita Falls, Texas and the ones who know about it saw another thrilling installment Saturday afternoon with No. 14 Tarleton rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to take a win over Midwestern State 77-72 in the D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
 
"It's a very emotional game. This has always been a tremendous rivalry. Coach (Nelson) Haggerty does a tremendous job and it's always a nail-biter both ways, whether it's at our place or at his place," said Tarleton head coach Lonn Reisman. "Our guys really made great adjustments out of halftime and followed through with them. The road is so hard in this league and to be able to get the last two on the road, I just can't be more pleased with my staff and my players. I couldn't be more proud."
 
Not only did the Tarleton win even the all-time series at 27-27, but it is the 14^th time in the last 20 meetings that one of these contests have been decided by six points or less. It's also the first time since 2010-11 that either team has swept the regular season series (Tarleton both times).
 
And just to add to the rivalry, one or both of these teams have represented the Lone Star Conference in the tournament championship game in nine of the last 11 seasons.
 
Saturday's newest chapter was nothing short of what Tarleton-Midwestern fans expect to see, beginning in the first half that saw the Mustangs take a 38-31 lead into the break.
 
Out of the break, however, Tarleton came out swinging.
 
Over the opening 2:08 of the new half, the Texans forced four Midwestern State turnovers and got points from Deshawn Riddick, Romond Jenkins, and Chantz Chambers to cut the Midwestern lead to just two points at 38-36 and force a Midwestern State timeout.
 
Midwestern State continued to lightly expand its lead as the Texans couldn't inch any closer than a single bucket over the next eight minutes.
 
But with Tarleton trailing by one with 9:25 left, Chambers drilled a contested three-pointer from the top of the key to give the Texans their first lead at 51-49. For Chambers, it was his 10^th point of the opening 10:35 of the second half that helped spark the Tarleton surge. Jenkins and Ridell Camidge followed up with a layup and a jumper to extend the Tarleton lead to six and cap off a 14-0 Tarleton run.
 
Tarleton maintained its lead over the remainder of the game, despite Midwestern State pulling as close as one point with 2:02 left in the game. Freshman Anthony Davis stopped all the Midwestern momentum with an 'and-1' layup to put Tarleton back up by four points. The Mustangs would not get closer than three points over the rest of the game.
 
Jenkins was dominant on both ends of the floor as the senior, who had a double-double in the first half alone with 12 points and 10 rebounds, finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds – which tied his career high. His fellow senior, Chambers, added 16 points while Camidge also cracked double figures with 11 points and nine rebounds.
 
Davis finished with nine points while Josh Hawley and Brandon Willis each scored six off the bench. Riddick and Curtiss Anderson each scored four points to round out the Tarleton scoring. As a team, Tarleton shot .466 from the floor including a .536 mark in the second half.
 
The Texans will return home next week to host the New Mexico side of the Lone Star Conference, beginning Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. showdown with Eastern New Mexico in Wisdom Gym.