EDINBURG – Tarleton Men's Basketball won its second straight conference game as the Texans dominated UT Rio Grande Valley 65-47 at the Bert Ogden Arena on Friday.
The Texans (9-10, 4-7) were up by as much as 21 and led for 30 of the 40 minutes.
Freddy Hicks scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the true freshman's third career double-double.
In a matchup with two of the nation's top defensive teams, as both rank in the top five in steals and turnovers forced per game, it was the Texan defense that prevailed over the Vaqueros. It was a sluggish offensive start for both teams as the Texans led just 8-6 in the first six minutes of the game.
A pair of free throws by Hicks put the Texans up 10-9 with 12:08 in the first half and the Texans never trailed again. Hicks drilled an NBA-range 3-pointer at the top of the key to go up 20-17 and start an 8-0 Texan run. The Vaqueros climbed to within three points with four minutes left in the half, but the Texans responded with a 9-0 run to go up by 14. Tarleton led 36-28 at halftime and improves to 9-2 on the season when they lead at the break.
In the second half, it was the veterans on the roster
Montre Gipson and
Shakur Daniel who took over the Texan scoring as each player had eight points in the final 20 minutes. Gipson finished the game with 17 points and Daniel added 10 to join Hicks in double figures.
Tarleton went 4-7 on 3-pointers in the second half and all of them were timely to put a stop to any UTRGV run. Hicks and Daniel drained back-to-back 3's as part of an 8-0 run after UTRGV cut the game to six in the opening minutes of the second half. That was the last time the Vaqueros were within single digits as the lead continued to grow down the stretch. Daniel's 3-point play with 5:52 to go put Tarleton up by 20. Jonathan Jackson had nine points in his return from injury and his two free throws late gave the Texans its biggest lead at 21.
The Texan defense held UTRGV to its lowest scoring total of the season and first time to be held under 50 points. They also limited the Vaqueros to 28 percent shooting as they went 8-31 from 3-point range. Tarleton outrebounded UTRGV 38-29 for its largest rebound margin against a Division I opponent this season.
Tarleton will look for the sweep in the final game of the season as the Texans and Vaqueros square off from the UTRGV Fieldhouse on Saturday at 7 p.m.
