STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Men's Basketball was unable to hold its halftime lead and fell victim to a late Wolverine run to fall to Utah Valley, 63-60, on Thursday night in Wisdom Gym.
 
The Wolverines (15-15 overall, 10-9 WAC) snapped the Texans (22-8, 15-4) 10-game winning streak that was the second-longest active in the nation.
 
Devon Barnes led the team in scoring for the eighth time this season with 18, snapping the Texans' 13-game streak of consecutive 20-plus points by at least one Texan. Barnes also added two assists and two rebounds.
 
Jakorie Smith led the team with eight boards and added 16 points. KiAndre Gaddy posted seven points, seven boards and two blocks.
 
The Texans jumped out to an early lead taking a 40-30 lead at the break. Tarleton shot just below 50 percent from the floor, 48.6 percent. Smith led the squad with 12 of his 16 points in the first half. Utah Valley did not make a three-pointer, shooting seven.
 
Tarleton's largest lead of the game came with 13:09 remaining in the second half. TSU was up by 13, 51-38 with 13:09 remaining in the second half. The Wolverines cut the lead to eight, with a 5-0 run with four coming from Drake Allen.
 
The Texans found themselves up 58-46 with 9:18 to go, and then the Wolverines defense kicked in. An 8-0 run started by four straight Allen points, brought the UVU deficit to four with 6:11 to play.
 
Emmanuel Innocenti made the Purple and White's final basket of the game to put TSU up 60-54 with 5:52 remaining. Three straight made free throws by the Wolverines tied the game at 60 with two minutes to go. After another pair of free throws, TSU trailed for the first time in the half with a minute remaining. A turnover by and missed layup in the Texans' next two possessions set up two UVU free throws with 11.1 ticks to go. UVU missed the pair before Williams ran the length of the floor and missed a corner triple with just under three seconds left. The Wolverines' Allen missed his second free throw, giving the Texans hope with 1.8 remaining and the ball under the basket. After back-to-back timeouts, the ball found Williams at half court where his half court jumper was offline, giving Utah Valley the 63-60 upset victory.
 
Tarleton shot 24-for-66 from the floor, a 36.4 percent rate. The Texans were just under 20 percent from deep, four-for-21. The Wolverines won the battle of the boards, 49-40, with UVU pulling down 20 offensive boards. The Texans lost the turnover battle for just the sixth time this season, 13-11.
 
Tarleton State will close out the regular season in its final game at Wisdom Gym on Saturday. In a show of Fan Appreciation, Tarleton is giving all fans free admission to the contest as well as a slew of fun giveaway items throughout the game. Before the game, retiring AD Lonn Reisman will be honored with a pregame reception. Immediately before the game, Tarleton's four seniors: Lue Williams, Jakorie Smith, KiAndre Gaddy and Adam Moussa. Tip is slated for 4 p.m. against the Seattle U Redhawks.