STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Men's Basketball hosts its second game in three days against Seattle U on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Wisdom Gym. The Texans (10-16 overall, 5-6 WAC) look to snap their three-game losing streak with its second matchup of the season against Seattle U (10-14, 5-5). Last week, the Texans fell 91-54 in Seattle at the Redhawk Center.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with
Byron Anderson and Hekma Harrison.
Kyle Crews will have the call on the Tarleton Sports Radio Network. Live stats will be provided by StatBroadcast available on tarletonsports.com. Follow @tarletonmbb on Instagram, X and Facebook for live updates, highlights and content. Thursday's contest is sponsored by National Farm Life.
Jordan Mizell set a new scoring career high with 15 against GCU. He shot 66 percent from the floor, 6-for-9. The freshman scored in double digits for the fifth time this season. He tied for the team lead with six boards, three on the offensive glass and three on the defensive side.
Grimes nearly single-handedly brought the Texans back into the game on Thursday. Grimes tallied 16 points, 6 boards, 6 assists and 6 steals. Grimes made three from deep including the game-tying 3 to tie it at 53 with five minutes left. Grimes has yet to start a game but has played at least 30 minutes in six of the last seven.
Every squad under coach Gillispie is very defense oriented, and this year's crew is no different. Tarleton ranks third in the nation in forced turnovers per game, averaging 17.0 to lead the WAC. UTEP leads the nation averaging 17.21 per game. The Purple and White have forced at least 20 turnovers in seven games this season. Tarleton has forced double-digit turnovers in all but one game this season (11/30 vs. Hofstra). The Texans rank sixth in the nation and are second in the league averaging 9.9 steals per contest. The Purple and White have tallied at least 10 steals in 13 games this season.
Bubu Benjamin ranks in the top five in the WAC in six different categories. He leads the league and ranks 40th in the nation averaging 35:34 minutes per game. The sophomore is third in the WAC tallying 130 made field goals and with 291 attempts. The Canada native is third in points (390) and fifth in points per game (15.0). He ranks fifth in total steals (41). Benjamin has scored 20-plus points in six games. The Canadian broke his career-high for the third time this season with 29 against Dallas Christian.
The Texans lead the WAC in conference play shooting 78.5 percent from the line, more than five percent better than the next best team, Utah Tech (73.7). In WAC play, four Texans rank in the top eight in free throw percentage in league play. In total this season, the Texans are shooting 74.1 percent from the line, the 100th best in the nation and second in the league. TSU has made at least 20 free throws in 10 contests this season. The crew has shot 90 percent or better in three contests this season, all resulting in losses.
Tarleton State will have a week off before traveling up the road to UT Arlington next Saturday. The Texans will take on the Mavericks at the College Park Center at 7 p.m. The game will be nationally-televised on ESPNU, one of three WAC games this season to be aired nationally.
