SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, California — Tarleton State knocked off Austin Peay, 66-59 in the semifinals of the SoCal Challenge Sand Division on Monday to advance to his second-straight MTE championship game. This year, the Texans advance to the SoCal Challenge Championship to face-off against Cal State Bakersfield who were 75-71 victors in their opening round contest against Sacramento State.
The championship game will be streamed on FloHoops, which requires a subscription to watch. Kyle Crews will have the 90.5 KTRL radio call and highlights and score updates can be found on @tarletonmbb on Instagram and twitter. Statistics will be provided by StatBroadcast and can be found on TarletonSports.com.
In the opening game,
Jakorie Smith led the Texans to victory, posting a 2023 SoCal Challenge opening-round high of 28 points. His scoring mark is the most ever at the SoCal Challenge in the Sand Division and the second most of the SoCal Challenge's three-year history of both the sand and surf division. Nevada's Marcus Domask posted 32 in the championship game of the surf division last season.
KiAndre Gaddy and
Lue Williams were the other two Texans to score in double figures with 15 and 13, respectively. Gaddy and Smith led the team with seven rebounds each, while Williams and Smith led with two steals apiece.
Head coach
Billy Gillispie did not make the trip to California, due to medical circumstances. Assistant coach,
Joseph Jones is filling in for him during the SoCal Challenge.
Tarleton State has never tipped off against CSU-Bakersfield or any current member of the Big West Conference.
Devon Barnes has not shot a free throw in the last two games and his 13-consecutive made free throws to start the season, remains the longest in the WAC. He is one of 21 Division I men's players to have a perfect percentage with at least 10 made from the foul line.
The Texans are 25-0 in their Division I era, when the team shoots 50 percent or better from the field. Tarleton has forced more or the same number of turnovers as their opponent in 76 of their 90 DI games, winning 39 of those games.
Last season, High Point overtook Tennessee State in the Sand Division Championship, 77-72. In the first SoCal Challenge Sand Division Championship, Utah Valley knocked off Nicholls State, 74-63. With a win on Wednesday, Tarleton State would be the second WAC school to win the Sand Division and the only WAC schools to participate in the Sand Division of the SoCal Challenge. California Baptist lost both of its games last season in the surf division.
The Texans will have a week break before heading back on the road to open their WAC slate with at Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday, November 19, at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, and Crews will have the radio call for the Texans.
