Box Score STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Men's Basketball dropped an early led to suffer a loss to the Sam Houston regular season home opener on Saturday night in Wisdom Gym, 91-62.
The Texans (0-2) dropped its first home opener of its D1 era against the Bearkats (1-1).
For the second-straight game this season,
Bubu Benjamin led the Texans posting a game-best 17 points. Benjamin recorded his first collegiate double-double adding a new career-high 10 rebounds.
Chris Mpaka posted a season-best 15 points and added seven board and a team-best two blocks.
Matt Krass tallied 10 points off the bench for the second game of the season the second of two Texans to add 10 or more off the bench with Mpaka.
Jordan Mizell posted a team-best six assists.
Head coach
Billy Gillispie used his second different lineup of the season, awarding
Izzy Miles and
Joseph Martinez their first collegiate starts.
The Texans held the lead early in the first half. A nice lay-up by
Joseph Martinez tied the game at five.
Matt Krass drained the first Texans triple of the season to give the Texans an 8-5 lead on a 5-0 run.
Matt Krass hit a mid-range to give the Texans a four-point lead, 10-6. The two squads traded baskets until Sam Houston grabbed the lead on a pair of made free throws, 15-14.
Sam Houston took control of the remainder of the half. A triple by Benjamin cut the Bearkats lead to 19-17, with just over nine minutes remaining in the first session. Sam Houston used a 9-3 run to break out to a commanding 30-22 lead.
The Kats used an 8-0 run across 49 seconds in the final minute and half of play. The Bearkats' run expanded their largest lead of the half, 15.
Nick Krass sunk a mid-range jumper as the halftime clock expired to send the Texans into the half trailing, 47-34.
Sam Houston didn't let up in the second half opening on a 7-2 run in the first 1:47. The Kats used an 8-3 run to expand the lead to 65-42 at the first media timeout. The Bearkats notched a pair of triples and a jumper to spark an 8-0 run and expand to a 28-point lead at the midpoint, 72-44.
The Bearkats coasted to the victory, 91-62, dashing the Texans' hopes of a home-opening victory.
Sam Houston out-rebounded the Texans, 47-31. The Bearkats made 14 from deep compared to the Texans, 4-for-12 effort. Tarleton shot 25-for-57, 43.9 percent from the field.
Tarleton will open its three-game week with a road tilt at Florida State on Tuesday night in Tallahassee, Fla. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. CT at the Tucker Center. The Texans return to Wisdom Gym on Thursday night against Tabor College at 7 p.m., before closing out the week on Sunday at Baylor.
