SEATTLE – Tarleton State Men's Basketball heads out west for the last two-game road trip of the season starting on Thursday night at Seattle U at 9 p.m. CT at the Redhawk Center.
 
The Texans (10-13 overall, 5-3 WAC) are currently the third-best team in the conference. The Purple and White swept Seattle U (8-13, 3-4) last season including their first win in Seattle. The Texans are 1-1 in Seattle and are 2-2 all-time in the series.
 
The game will be streamed on ESPN+. 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.
 
Last week, the Texans won a pair of home games to improve their home winning streak to seven games and their WAC home winning streak to four. The Texans won a seven-point game against Utah Tech on Thursday before knocking off Southern Utah by 17, 75-58, on Saturday evening.
 
Izzy Miles scored a career-high 15 points on Saturday against Southern Utah. Miles has scored at least 10 in back-to-back games and in five of the last seven games. He has also been a threat on the defensive side of the ball tallying at least two steals in six of the last seven games and three in three separate contests.
 
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 17.57 to lead the WAC. UTEP leads the nation averaging 17.68 per game. The Purple and White have forced at least 20 turnovers in seven games this season. Tarleton State has forced double-digit turnovers in all but one game this season (11/30 vs. Hofstra). The Texans rank sixth in the nation and lead the league averaging 10.1 steals per contest. The Purple and White have tallied at least 10 steals in 12 games this season and in each of the past three.
 
The Texans have four players in the top seven for steals per game in conference play. Also, three of the top four rep Tarleton State. Bubu Benjamin is the conference leader in steals per game in WAC play, averaging 2.25 per contest. Miles is third (2.13 and Jordan Mizell ranks fourth (2.0). Dantwan Grimes is tied for fifth with 1.88 per game.
 
Mizell is listed at just 6 feet and two inches for the Texans. Despite his lack of size, the freshman guard has the most rebounds in the league of players under 6'5. He would also rank third among players that are 6'6 or shorter. Mizell has pulled down 38 total boards, 4.75 per game in conference play, tied for the team lead with 6'7 Chris Mpaka. Regardless of height, Mizell is tied for 15th in conference play in boards per game. On the defensive glass Mizell is tied for 13th averaging 3.5 per WAC game. He also leads all players under 6'5 in that category as well.
 
The freshman notched six assists on Saturday, the second time he has accomplished the feat this season. Only two other teammates, Marty Silvera and Grimes have notched at least six in a game this season. Mizell also scored in double figures for the second time in the last three contests.
 
Head coach Billy Gillispie notched his 200th career victory on Thursday night against Utah Tech. Gillispie has accumulated his secondmost victories in his career at Tarleton with 52. He registered 70 wins during his three seasons at Texas A&M. During his career he has posted a 142-49 record, a .743 winning percentage at home. He has posted six winning seasons and five seasons with at least 20 wins. He is 3-4 in the NCAA Tournament. Gillispie became the 159th active head coach with at least 200 career victories.  Coach Gillispie is the fifth active WAC coach to reach the 200-mark.
 
Benjamin and Mpaka are the only Texans to record a double-double this season. Benjamin and Mpaka have each racked up three, tied for the seventh most in the league. Tarleton is one of three teams to have multiple players record at least three double-doubles this season joining California Baptist, GCU. Benjamin notched his third double-double with a 17-point, 11-board effort against Florida A&M (12/29). Mpaka set new career highs with 19 points and 12 boards en route to his second double-double of the season against Howard Payne.
 
Tarleton State will close out the road trip on Saturday night in Orem. The Texans will play an afternoon game against Utah Valley at 3 p.m. CT. The Wolverines are 7-1 in conference play and are tied for the lead with GCU.