STEPHENVILLE – Despite a career-high 40 points from Corinthian Ramsey, Tarleton dropped its first game of the season to UC Colorado Springs in a double overtime heartbreaker, 103-100, on Saturday night in Wisdom Gym.
It's the first time a Texan has scored 40 points in a game since Brandon Burney posted a program-record 50 points in 2001. It's only the sixth 40-point game in school history.
In the first half, Tarleton had a 36-31 lead with five minutes to go before the break, when Ramsey scored seven straight points for the Texans. Jaraan Lands added a pair of layups for a double-digit lead at 47-36, followed by buckets from Josh Hawley and Ramsey for the biggest lead of the game at 51-36. Tarleton led 51-38 at the break after shooting 58 percent from the floor and converting on 6-of-12 3-point attempts.
The Texans held a 10-point lead at 52-42 through the first four minutes of the second half, but the Mountain Lions went on an 18-8 run to tie the game up at 60-60 with 10 minutes to go in the game.
UCCS drained a 3-pointer with 8:26 to go for its first lead of the second half. But Tarleton battled back, going up 75-69 after a Ramsey 3-pointer with five minutes left. With 38 seconds to go, Jesse Hill's layup gave the Texans an 81-78 lead, but the Mountain Lions countered with a 3-pointer to tie the game in the final seconds. Ramsey's desperation 3-poiner to win the game came up short and sent the game into overtime at 81-81.
In the first overtime, Tarleton had an 87-85 lead after Nosa Ebomwonyi's tip-in with a minute to go. UCCS's Elijah Ross, who finished with 30 points for the Mountain Lions, found a path in the paint for a layup with seven seconds to go and sent the game to a second overtime at 87-87.
After Tarleton took a 94-93 lead, UCCS scored the next six points for a 5-point advantage. Ramsey followed with two straight pull-up 3-pointers to make it a 101-100 UCCS lead. The Mountain Lions turned the ball over on the in-bounds pass with 16 seconds left, giving Tarleton the ball, but Ramsey's mid-range jumper rimmed out in the final seconds and UCCS held on for the win.
Josh Hawley recorded his first-career double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds to go with four blocks. Jaraan Lands added 16 points and eight rebounds, while Jesse Hill had 12 points.
Deshawn Riddick scored seven points, with six rebounds and six assists. Nosa Ebomwonyi finished with eight points and five rebounds, while Anthony Davis added five points.
Tarleton will take on Sul Ross State on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in Wisdom Gym.
