STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Men's Basketball returns to Wisdom Gym after a five-game road trip to take on the Dallas Christian Crusaders on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
 
Early-arriving fans will receive a free Tarleton snow globe as part of Let it Snow night at Wisdom Gym. The Texans will be holding a Toys for Tots Drive presented by Surepoint. One new, unwrapped toy will grant you a free GA ticket. All proceeds go towards the Optimist Club in Stephenville. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be present for pictures and will sing the national anthem.
 
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Hekma Harrison and Byron Anderson. Crews will have the call on the Tarleton Sports Radio Network. Live stats will be provided by StatBroadcast available on tarletonsports.com. Follow @tarletonmbb on Instagram, X and Facebook for live updates, highlights and content.
 
The Texans return to Stephenville for their first home game since Nov. 14 against Tabor College. The past week, the Purple and White played a trio of games at the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship. Out of the six teams in the event, Tarleton was one of three teams to post a 1-2 record. The Texans dropped the first game to Iona before a two-point victory over Hofstra on Saturday. The squad closed out the weekend with a loss to Indiana State.
 
Ronnie Harrison Jr. posted a career-best 27 points against Hofstra, the most by a Texan this year. He followed that performance with 22 points in the finale against Indiana State. Harrison notched seven in the first half and 20 in the second. He accounted for 20 of the 30 Texan second half points against Hofstra. The sophomore also added seven boards and accumulated a team-best three steals. The junior college transfer shot 10-for-18 from the floor and six-for-eight from the charity stripe. He knocked down his first triple of his collegiate career in the first half.
 
In the first NET rankings of 2024-25, the Texans rank 27th in SOS. Tarleton is the second highest ranked WAC school, trailing only Seattle U who is ranked 21st. The average NET ranking of Tarleton opponents is 54. Tarleton's NET ranking is 352.
 
Bubu Benjamin sunk a career-high five three-pointers on Thursday night at Michigan. The sophomore drained four in the first half and his fifth in the second to finish the night five-for-seven. Against Iona, the sophomore shot 3-for-6 from deep. He recorded a new career-high 22 points in the defeat. Benjamin had previous only made two in a game three times in his career. The Canadian has made at least two triples in each of the last four contests and at least one in the last five.
 
Head Coach Billy Gillispie is chasing the 200-career win mark, needing eight more more to eclipse the milestone. Gillispie served as an assistant at Baylor from 1995-97. Gillispie returns to the floor after stepping away due to medical circumstances last season after the fourth game of the season.
 
Tarleton State will hit the road for three straight starting with UCF on Sunday, Dec. 8. Tip-off is slated for 12 p.m. CT at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Fla.