STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Men's Basketball returns to action on Saturday afternoon in search of their first win in program history against the California Baptist Lancers at 4 p.m. in Wisdom Gym.

Early-arriving fans will receive a free pack of Texan trading cards in honor of National Trading Card Day. After such an amazing turnout on Thursday night, the limited-edition set is expected to be in high demand so be sure to arrive early in order to secure your pack.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Byron Anderson (pxp) and Ladarrin McLane (analyst) on the call. Kyle Crews will have the radio call on 90.5 KTRL. Live Stats will be provided by StatBroadcast and can be found on TarletonSports.com. For highlights and live score updates follow @tarletonmbb on Twitter and Instagram.

Thursday night the Texans upset the Lopes in front of a sellout Wisdom Gym crowd. Jakorie Smith led the Texans with 24 points teaming up with Devon Barnes to be the third Texan duo to each score 20 in a game this season. KiAndre Gaddy tied the Texans D1 era total rebounds in a game record with 14 matching his total at FIU earlier this season. The Texans overcame a 13-point halftime deficit and 15-point second half challenge. Tarleton outscored GCU, 55-39 in the second 20 minute session.

The Purple and White are 12-3 in the WAC play, and 19-7 overall, breaking program records for total and WAC wins in a season and securing an over-.500 overall record for the first time in the D1 era. The Texans are on a seven-game winning streak, their longest WAC streak in program history. After last night's win against the Lopes, the Purple and White are just a game behind GCU for a chance to share the WAC title.

Tarleton became the second school to clinch a bid to the 2024 WAC Tournament with a win combined with a Southern Utah loss last Thursday. The Texans currently have the second-best conference winning percentage and are seeded second in the WAC Resume Seeding System. The top two teams will receive a double by and play their first game in the semifinals on Friday.

In each of the last ten games, a Texan has scored at least 20 points in each game. Williams has accounted for four 20-plus efforts in the last six contests. During the last ten games, Smith has scored at last 10 points in each.

Tarleton has been consistent with their starting lineup, featuring the same five starters for the last 24 games this season. Currently it is tied for the sixth active longest streak in the country. The Texans are one of 30 schools in the country to use three or less starting lineups this season.

KiAndre Gaddy leads the league in offensive rebounds (103). The senior would rank ninth in the nation with 3.96 offensive boards per game. The senior ranks 10th in program history and is 50 boards behind program record holder Danny Jones 153-mark. Gaddy ranks in the top seven in four different statistical categories in the conference.

Joseph Jones will be standing on the Texan sideline for the thirteenth time this season. Jones has been filling in for coach Billy Gillispie since Nov. 19 who has not been with the team due to medial circumstances. Jones was named the acting head coach on Dec. 19. He holds an 8-4 record during his time on the sidelines.

California Baptist enters the weekend, 14-12 and 7-8 in the WAC and is led by the WAC's leading scorer, Dominque Daniels Jr. who is averaging 19.2 points per game. He also leads all scorers in WAC games with 20.4 points. Earlier this week, the Lancers knocked off ACU in Abilene, 71-65. Head Coach Rick Croy is in his 11^th season with the Lancers. He has been at the helm during the entirety of CBU's Division I era.

CBU owns the series with the Texans, 5-0. Out of the five meetings, only one has taken place in Stephenville. The Lancers took the lone meeting, 88-84, Jan. 20, 2022. Earlier this season, CBU handed the Texans their first conference loss, 77-63.

Next week, the Texans hit the road for the last time in the regular season against a pair of Utah schools. Tarleton will seek its fifth season series sweep of the year next Thursday at Utah Tech, before heading to Southern Utah to avenge a loss earlier this season.