HOUSTON — Four Texans each scored at least 15 points to lead Tarleton State Men's Basketball to a 16-point victory, 90-74 on Thursday night on the road at Rice in Tudor Fieldhouse.

The Texans (4-3) knocked off an American Athletic Conference opponent for the first time in program history. The Owls fall to 2-4 on the season and 2-2 in Tudor Fieldhouse. After entering the matchup with Rice owning the all-time series, 3-0, the Texans notched their first victory and road win in the series after not meeting for 39 years.

"I thought the toner setter was Chris Mpaka," said head coach Billy Gillispie. "He played very physical in the first half and I thought by far he was the most important part of the game. Then in the second half Dior came in and did Dior things. It is not easy to score 29 points in a game and keep that up in multiple games like he has. Then, Cam McDowell played one of his best games contributing for us in the second half as well. I felt that we did a lot of good things in the second half, and a lot of guys did a lot of positive things to contribute to that tonight. It was a great win on the road for us."

The Thursday night contest in Houston will go down as the Cam McDowell breakout game. The senior scored in double digits for the first time as a Texan with a season-best 19 points while shooting 7-for-11 from the floor and sinking a pair of triples. All 19 of his points came in the second half. McDowell added three rebounds, an assist and a steal and shot a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. His 27 minutes off the bench gave the Texans a 13-point advantage while he was on the floor.

"My team gave me confidence," said McDowell in a postgame interview. "They've been telling me all season just keep playing your game it's going to come. This is what I do and I am glad that we have a team like we do that I can build my confidence with. Coach Gillispie expects the most out of us and he knows how to get the best out of each of us."

Dior Johnson topped the Texans in scoring off the bench for the fifth time this season. Johnson ended the night with 29, his fourth effort this season with at least 29. He was nearly perfect at the free throw line connecting on 11 of his 12 attempts. The junior had his most balanced game as a Texan tying for the team-lead with a season-best six assists. He also added five boards and a pair of steals in 35 minutes of action.

Leroy Kelly IV also scored in double figures for the first time in his young collegiate career. The freshman played a season-high 29 minutes and scored 16 points. He also recorded a game-high six steals, the most by a Texan this season. Kelly IV was lights out from the floor shooting 75 percent (6-for-8) from the field. 

Chris Mpaka nearly tied his career high registering 22 points. Mpaka was one of four Texans to notch 15+ points in the contest. Mpaka shot 10-for-16 from the floor and added a pair of free throws. He notched seven boards along with Ocypher Owens to lead the Texans. The duo also led the squad with a pair of blocks each. Owens earned his first start of the season with the absence of Freddy Hicks from the lineup. Kaia Isaac tied with Johnson for the team lead dishing out six assists.

The game started as a back-and-forth affair, with Rice leading by a point at the half. The second half started out the same with the two teams exchanging points early on. But, the Texans owned the last 12 minutes of the game to outscore Rice by 17 in the second half. The tight affair totaled 12 lead changes and seven ties throughout the contest, with the Texans taking the lead for the final time with just over 11 minutes remaining.

Early on in the first half, the Texans traded points with the Owls. Kaia Isaac scored the first basket for the Texans once again after Mpaka won the tip for the fifth time this season. Trailing 5-4, back-to-back buckets in the paint for Mpaka gave the Texans an 8-5 advantage after the first four minutes. With the Texans leading 13-12 with just over 12 minutes to play, Rice drilled back-to-back triples to take a five-point lead. Mpaka and Johnson gave the Texans the lead once again with a 6-0 run from the duo. Mpaka started the burst with a bucket in the paint and closed the run with a pair of two made freebies. Johnson contributed he middle two points at the charity stripe.

After taking the lead with 9:26 to go in the half, the Texans never regained the lead for the remainder of the first half. Rice lengthened their advantage to as many as seven, 25-18, with just over four minutes to play. Johnson notched 14 of the final Texan 17 points in the half. Johnson made a pair of up-and-under layups to notch a 4-0 run and cut the Texan deficit down from seven to three. In the final minute of the half, Johnson followed up Kelly IV's first collegiate three-pointer with a pair of made layups to bring the Texans within one at the break, 38-37.

The second half started out as a battle, before the Texans dominated and took control. Rice made a pair of buckets in the paint to take a five-point lead out of the break in the first two minutes. But then the Texans answered to cut their deficit down to three, 44-41. McDowell drained a triple from deep for his first of 19 points in the second 40 minutes. McDowell started a 10-0 run to put the Texans up seven, just over four and a half minutes into the second half. McDowell contributed six with Johnson recording the other four to spark the Texans.

But in a game of runs, the Owls weren't out just yet. Rice quickly erased the Texans lead responding with a 13-4 run of their own to tie take a 57-55 lead with 12:25 to play. But then, it was all Texans. Kelly IV tied the game with a fast break layup. He notched another layup on the very next possession to put the Texans in the lead, which they would never surrender. The points poured on in an 8-0 Texan run capped by back-to-back Johnson fast break layups. The burst put the Texans ahead, 63-57 and forced Rice to call a timeout and stop the momentum.

The timeout worked only briefly with the Owls cutting their deficit to four, 65-61. The Texans dominated the next several minutes and took control of the game with an 11-0 run. McDowell accounted for nine of the 11 points including his second triple of the evening. With the Texans out in front by 15, 76-61 with just under seven minutes to play, they never looked back. 

Tarleton State closed the game out with their lead rising to as many as 18 twice in the final three minutes. Johnson dished off a pair of no-look passes with the Texans final bucket coming from the hands of Johnson to secure their 90-74 victory. Jubilation hit the sidelines as the buzzer sounded and the Purple and White celebrated with McDowell as he was at mid-court before his postgame interview with ESPN+.

The Texan bench scored 52 points, the fourth time this season to score at least 50, and the third consecutive game to reach that mark. For the 44th time in their D1 era, the Texans shot above 50 percent, shooting 58.6 percent from the floor to notch their 41st win when eclipsing the mark. The Texans won the battle of the boards, 40-34 and the turnover battle, 14-13. Tarleton State held Rice to shoot 41.3 percent from the floor and make 11 of their 30 shots from deep. The Purple and White made 19 of their 25 shots from the free throw line a 76.0 percent rate.

Tarleton State will have seven days off before resuming play after Thanksgiving. The Texans are set for a Black Friday matchup against Midwestern State on Friday, Nov. 28 at 4 p.m. in the EECU Center.