ITTA BENA, Miss. — Cam McDowell and Dior Johnson combined for 53 points to lead Tarleton State to an 88-64 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday night at the R.W. Harrison HPER Complex.

The Texans (8-4) notched their second road win of the season while handing the Delta Devils (1-10) their first non-conference home loss since 2021. Tarleton State recorded its first win in the state of Mississippi to mark the 18th different state Texan Men's Basketball has notched a victory.

The duo of Johnson and McDowell each notched 20+ points, the second Texan duo to accomplish the feat this season. McDowell has now scored at least 20 in each of the last three games for the Texans. Johnson returned after missing the last four games and scored a team-high 27 and McDowell accounted for 26, both coming off the bench. The pair each shot perfect at the line with Johnson making all six of his attempts and McDowell going 10-for-10. Johnson shot 10-for-15 from the floor, grabbed five boards, four assists and four steals. McDowell led the team with five steals and recorded five rebounds.

Kaia Isaac scored nine points all coming from triples. He shot three-of-six from behind the arc. Isaac also dished out a team-high six assists and notched four steals. Leroy Kelly IV grabbed a game-high eight boards and dished out four assists.

Mississippi Valley State took the lead to begin the game notching the first basket. The Texans quickly responded with a Johnson and-one layup to tie the game and then take the lead with the made free throw. The two squads traded baskets in the opening few minutes with the Texan lead not growing to more than four before the first media timeout. Three consecutive baskets from McDowell, Kelly IV and Mpaka gave the Texans their first 10-point lead of the game, 18-8 with 14:23 to go in the half. The Delta Devils responded with a 9-0 run all from Michael James to cut their deficit to one entering the second media timeout. 

The Delta Devils claimed their second and final lead of the contest on a 4-0 run to take a 23-21 advantage at the midpoint of the half. After Johnson tied the game with a layup, Isaac knocked down back-to-back triples to put the Texans ahead by six. Later in the half, Kelly IV and Kade Douglas each knocked down their only triples of the contest on back-to-back Texan possessions to put the Purple and White up nine with just over two minutes to play. The Texans did not make a shot from the floor in the final two minutes of the half with their only points a pair of made free throws each from McDowell and Mpaka. The Delta Devils cut their deficit to three in the final second of the first 20 minutes with three made free throws to send the Texans into the half leading by three, 43-40.

The Texans forced 13 turnovers in first half. Mississippi Valley State shot 62.5 percent from the floor and led in rebounds, 17-14. Johnson scored 12 of his 27 points in the first half, the only Texans with double-digit points in the first 20 minutes. 

The Delta Devils cut their deficit to just one with the first bucket of the second half, but then it was all Texans. Tarleton State outscored Mississippi Valley State 22-3 across the next 8:53. The home squad did not register a made field goal in just over five minutes during the run. McDowell accounted for nine of the first 12 Texan second half points including his second made three of the night. Johnson notched six during the run via a three pointer and a and-one layup in the paint.

The Texans controlled the second half leading by as many as 29 in the final five minutes. Johnson had a pair of and-one layups in the second half and shot a perfect five-for-five from the floor. Malek Archie had back-to-back Texan buckets in the final minutes of the game while seeing just over four minutes of action. In the end, the Purple and White tallied their second road win and first outside of Texas on the season with an 88-64 victory.

Tarleton State shot 30-for-59 from the floor, a 50.8 percent clip. The Purple and White improved to 44-3 during the D1 era while shooting at least 50 percent. The Delta Devils were 54.2 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from the line. As a team the Texans shot nearly perfect from the charity stripe, 20-for-22, a 90.9 percent rate.

The Texans won the turnover battle committing 16 and forcing 26. The Purple and White notched 19 steals and won the battle on the glass, 29-25. The Texans notched 19 fast break points and 61 points off the bench, their second highest total this season.

Tarleton State will close out the week with its final game before a 10-day holiday break on Friday, Dec. 19 at the EECU Center. The Texans will host Florida A&M for the second consecutive year with tip scheduled for 7 p.m.