STEPHENVILLE – A slow start haunted Tarleton in a 74-61 loss to Angelo State in Wisdom Gym Saturday afternoon.
Angelo State came out and struck for a 6-0 lead over the first 4:30 before a three-pointer from
Josh Hawley started an 8-2 Tarleton run that tied things up at 8-8. The Rams answered with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes that proved too much to overcome before halftime as the Texans went into the break trailing 42-27.
Out of the break, the Texans' resiliency was on full display.
Hawley and
Sam Marshall scored the first five points of the new half on back-to-back possessions to bring the scoring to a manageable 10-point deficit. After the Rams had a surge to extend the lead to 16, Tarleton punched back with a 15-7 run of their own to bring the deficit to eight at 57-49.
After a Ram answer, Tarleton scored eight unanswered on a layup from
Jesse Hill and back-to-back three balls from
Corinthian Ramsey and
Brandon Goldsmith to bring the game within five with 4:37 left. That would be as close as the Texans would get, however, as the Rams ended the game on a 12-4 run to bring the game to its final score.
Hawley led the way with a 12-point, 14-rebound double-double performance while Goldsmith scored 10 off the bench.
Richie Mitchell (9) and Ramsey (8) combined for 17 points while
Randall Broddie and
Jesse Hill each scored seven points. Marshall (3),
Preston Enloe (3), and
Clashon Gaffney (2) rounded out the Tarleton scoring.
The Texans will return to action Wednesday, Dec. 12 against Arlington Baptist at 7 p.m. in Wisdom Gym.
