STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Men's Basketball closed out the month of November on Black Friday with a 67-57 victory over Midwestern State on Friday night at the EECU Center.
The Texans (5-3) picked up their fourth win in the friendly confines of the EECU Center. Tarleton State is undefeated in their brand-new home this season. Tarleton State outscored Midwestern State 42-21 to overtake the Mustangs in the second half and overcome an 11-point halftime deficit.
Jordan Mizell led the team in scoring for the first time this season. Mizell notched a season-best 14 points and added a team-best five steals. He made five of his six shots from the floor and four of his five free throw attempts.
Freddy Hicks and
Cam McDowell also scored in double figures adding 13 and 11 respectively. Hicks nearly notched the first Texans double-double of the season also adding eight rebounds. McDowell scored in double digits for the second-straight game.
The first half started out slow-paced for both teams. Hicks accounted for four of the first six Texan points to put them ahead early, 6-5 at the first media timeout. A pair of free throws from
Kade Douglas gave the Texans their biggest lead of the half, 8-5. Then, it was all Mustangs in the first half.
Midwestern State controlled the lead for the final 12 minutes of the half leading by as many as 12 with just over seven minutes to play. In the final seven minutes of the half, Midwestern State made just one shot from the floor. A 5-0 run from Tarleton State courtesy of the first Texan three pointer of the half from
Kaia Isaac and a layup from
Ocypher Owens. The Mustangs scored the final five points of the half to head into the break with a 36-25 advantage.
A pair of Mustangs, Terance Ramirez and Orlando Horton Jr. combined for 19 of the Mustangs 36 first half points. The Mustangs shot 42.3 percent from the floor and held the Texans to 31.0 percent, making nine shots. The turnover battle in the first half was even with 14 each on both sides.
In the second half, the Texans notched four-straight made free throws to cut the Mustangs lead to nine, 38-29 with 17:59 to go. But a 6-0 Mustang response ballooned their lead to 15, the largest of the game.
The Texans responded with a 20-0 run to retake the lead for the first time in over 20 minutes of game action. The Purple and White counted on five different players to score 20 consecutive points in a 6:23 span. Hicks started the run with a layup followed by a Douglas steal and score. McDowell had four of the next six for the Texans to bring the Mustang lead to single digits. After a pair of free throws from
Leroy Kelly IV and a layup from Mizell, the Texans were within one. Hicks went to the line next to tie the game at 44 and put the Texans back in the lead, 45-44 with 8:57 to go. McDowell added a pair of free throws and Douglas knocked down a floater to give the Texans 20 straight points and a 49-44 lead with 8:17 to go in the game.
The Texans found the three-ball in the final eight minutes with Kelly IV and McDowell each finding the bottom of the net. McDowell's triple gave the Purple and White their largest lead of the night to that point, 59-51 with just over five minutes to play. The Texans never surrendered their lead and took it to as many as 10 with another 6-0 lead with 2:25 to go. Tarleton State closed out the 67-57 victory to notch their fifth on the season and fourth in the EECU Center.
Tarleton State forced a season-high 30 turnovers while committing 17. The Texans shot 46.7 percent in the second half to shoot 39.0 percent from the floor on the game with the Mustangs shooting 40.0 percent. Midwestern State won the battle of the boards, 37-33. The Texans shot 81.8 percent from the free throw line making 18 of 22.
Tarleton State will be back in action for their first of three matchups next week. The Texans will head to the Midwest for a date with the Cincinnati Bearcats on Monday night at 6 p.m. They will then return for back-to-back home games against Howard Payne (Dec. 3) and Cameron (OK) (Dec. 7).
