STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Head coach
Billy Gillispie won his 200
th NCAA game as a head coach as Tarleton State Men's Basketball overtook Utah Tech, 61-54, on Thursday night in Wisdom Gym.
The Texans (9-13 overall, 4-3 WAC) are undefeated in WAC play at home, holding a 3-0 record. Utah Tech (6-15, 2-4) will finish out their Texas trip at UT Arlington on Saturday.
Coach Gillispie became the fifth active coach in the WAC to reach 200 wins and the 159
th active coach in the nation to accomplish the feat. Gillispie has tallied 52 wins at Tarleton State, the second most of his five NCAA head coaching stops. He is the second winningest coach in program history since 1988 and holds the best winning percentage among any coach at Texas A&M to have coached at least three seasons. The Graford, Texas, native, has totaled six winning seasons, five 20-win seasons and three NCAA Tournament wins including a sweet 16 appearance during his 13-year career.
Four Texans finished in double figures on the evening, led by
Bubu Benjamin. The sophomore tallied 14 points with 12 coming in the second half. He also tied for the team lead with three steals and shot a perfect six-for-six from the charity stripe.
Chris Mpaka recorded his third double-double of the season and first in WAC play. The junior college transfer grabbed 10 boards while adding 10 points. He made four of his five attempts from the floor.
Dantwan Grimes scored in double figures off the bench for the fifth-straight contest totaling 13. He snapped his perfect free throw streak at 33 after missing his third attempt of the night.
Izzy Miles was the final Texan in double digits scoring 10, the ninth time he has accomplished the feat.
In perfect theme with Military Appreciation Night, the highlight of the night came during a timeout with 11 minutes left in the second half. The Tarleton tradition of the Brady L. Pendleton full court putt occurs at the under 12 media, and for the first time ever, it ended in jubilation. Cadet Tom McLaughlin sunk the 94-foot putt and celebrated with the entire crowd as no one could believe what they had just seen.
In a low scoring first half affair, the Trailblazers opened early with a 4-0 lead. Grimes gave the Texans their first bucket of the night with a triple to bring the game within a point, two and a half minutes into the game. Utah Tech held the Texans to just five points in the first eight minutes of play, leading 13-5.
The Texans tied the game up for the first time at 13 after an 8-0 run spanning 3:42.
Keitenn Bristow knocked down a pair of free throws and notched a steal and a bucket to start the run. The freshman picked up a steal and went coast-to-coast for a bucket. Bristow sunk a pair of freebies to tie the game at 13 after a
Nick Krass layup at the end of the shot clock.
Tarleton State took their first lead on a 5-0 run. After Benjamin and Miles made three free throws to tie the contest at 16, Bristow gave the Texans the lead on a layup. Tarleton took an 18-16 lead with 5:30 remaining and after a Trailblazer three, retook the lead for the final time of the half with three minutes to go. Ultimately, the Texans led, 24-21 at the break.
The Purple and White shot just 29 percent, while allowing Utah Tech to shoot 40 percent in the first 20 minutes. The Texans were impeccable at the charity stripe, shooting 90 percent with just one miss.
The two squads stayed neck-and-neck through the first five minutes of the second half. With the Texans leading by four, 31-27 with 14 minutes left, the Purple and White took control with a 7-0 run to break out to their biggest lead of the night, 11. Grimes accounted for three, while Benjamin and Mpaka each sank buckets.
After Utah Tech responded to cut its deficit back down to six, it was Benjamin's turn. The sophomore nailed a pair of triples to bring the Texans back up 11, with six minutes remaining.
The Texans earned their largest lead of the night to go up 12 after a pair of Miles free throws with 2:18 to go. Tarleton State led by 12 again with 1:32 left, but the Trailblazers weren't going to go down easy. Grimes brought the lead to 12 with a shot clock beating layup in traffic to take a 56-44 advantage.
But there was 15 combined points in the final 90 seconds. Utah Tech used a 4-0 run to cut the lead to seven, then cut it to five with 33 ticks left on a triple. The Trailblazers made another shot to cut their deficit to five again after the Texans made a pair of freebies, but they were unable to shorten their deficit, handing coach Gillispie his 200
th victory, 61-54.
Tarleton State shot 50 percent in the second half to end the night shooting 39.1 percent from the line. The Texans won the turnover battle, 18-16 and the battle of the boards, 36-27. The Purple and White shot 75 percent from the charity stripe, 21-for-28.
The Texans will end the week at home with a Saturday night contest against Southern Utah at 7 p.m. at Wisdom Gym. Saturday night will be rodeo night with early-arriving fans receiving a free Boot'N'Scootin' koozie. The baseball and softball teams will be in the concourse pregame for a meet and greet and chance to get autographed poster schedules of both teams.
