STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton recorded its biggest statement win of the season and they did so with a 78-54 thrashing of No. 12 UT Permian Basin on Thursday in Wisdom Gym.
The Texans – who have now won a season-long six straight games – outscored the Falcons 51-19 in the second half and held an offense averaging 89 points per game to a season low in points. It's the first time UT Permian Basin has been held in the 50's offensively since December 2015 – when Tarleton topped the Falcons 74-58 in Wisdom Gym.
"You're playing the second ranked team in the region. You're playing a team that's tied for first place in the LSC and I just wanted to see how much this team could improve," said head coach
Lonn Reisman. "We're improving and I feel really good about the effort we gave tonight."
The Texans (18-9, 12-5) shot 63 percent in the second half and held UT Permian Basin (22-4, 14-3) to a season-low 29 percent from the floor.
The first half wasn't all fun and games for the Texans, although they kept within striking distance, but the Falcons led by as much as 10 in the opening half and held a 35-27 lead at the break.
Moments into the second half, a
Josh Hawley alley-oop dunk from
Deshawn Riddick was the energizer the Texans needed. It started an 8-0 run to regain the lead for the first time since the opening minutes at 38-37. Hawley grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to go with eight points, three blocks and three steals.
UTPB regained the lead after a pair of free throws from all-region guard Daeshon Francis and then the rout was on for the Texans. Francis struggled all game against the Texan defense, shooting just 4 of 17 from the floor to go with six turnovers, but went 12 of 12 from the free throw line for the majority of his 21 points.
It started with a
Preston Enloe 3-pointer. What followed was something no one saw coming. A 22-0 Texan run over the next seven minutes.
Deshawn Riddick was either dishing out assists for easy buckets or drilling back-to-back 3-pointers in the eyes of a Falcon defender. Riddick posted a career-high 11 assists to go with 14 points for his first career double-double. Riddick also moved into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time assists chart with 353 career assists, passing his former teammate
Michael Hardge.
At one point, the Texans made eight straight shots. Part of that was from
Jesse Hill, who was crucial in the second half, scoring all eight of his points in the paint and they came during the game-changing run.
Corinthian Ramsey helped put a stamp on the win, scoring 18 of his team-high 20 points in the second half.
In addition to Ramsey and Riddick, two other Texans scored in double figures, with
Jaraan Lands posting 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks and
Preston Enloe adding 10 points and a pair of steals.
Nosa Ebomwonyi scored three points to go with four rebounds and
Sam Marshall recorded four points.
Tarleton will close out the regular season with another tough battle in No. 7 West Texas A&M on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. in Wisdom Gym for senior day.
