STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Men's Basketball will look to bounce back on Saturday afternoon against another top WAC program with the California Baptist Lancers coming to town with tip off slated for 4 p.m.
Kids in attendance will receive a free voucher for a hot dog combo meal. The voucher will be good for one free hot dog, chips and a drink at Sodexo concession stands during the game.
The Texans (10-5 overall, 1-1 WAC) snapped their seven-game EECU Center winning streak with a 91-85 loss to Utah Valley on Thursday night. The Lancers (10-5, 0-2) have dropped each of their first two conference games on the road at Utah Valley and UT Arlington. Overall, the Lancers have dropped five of their last eight, after starting 7-0.
The game is sponsored by Sherwin Williams and will be streamed on ESPN+ with
Byron Anderson and Scott Garner on the call.
Kyle Crews will have the radio call on 90.5 KTRL and online on the Tarleton Sports Radio Network. For the most up to date highlights, news and updates follow @tarletonmbb on Instagram and X.
Dior Johnson erupted for 36 total points against Utah Valley, the most by a Texan in a WAC game in program history, Johnson broke the Texan previous record of 33 set by Devon Barnes against CBU on March 6, 2024. The junior has a nation-best four games with at least 30 points this season. Five other players have notched three games of 30+ point performances (JT Toppin, Money Williams, Dom Daniels Jr., Daniel Freitag, John Blackwell). Johnson has seven games with 20+ points this season the most by a Texan. He has a season high 42 points against Baylor, one of 10 players in the NCAA to score at least 40 in a single game this season.
Cam McDowell has scored 10 or more in 7 of his last 8 games. He has also tallied at least 20 points in 5 of his last 6. The senior went off for 26 against Utah Valley off the bench, It marked his third game this season with 26. He led the Texans in scoring for the third time this season with 23 at UTA to begin WAC play. The senior scorer has been on a tear as of late, averaging 19.4 points per game in his last eight appearances.
Tarleton State is averaging 19.33 forced turnovers per game, the most in the NCAA. Last season the Texans finished second in the category. So far this season, the Purple and White have forced at least 20 turnovers in six games. The Texans are also third in the nation in steals per game averaging 11.3. The squad has snagged double digit steals in 8 of the last 9 contests and in each of the last 6. The Texans are also 18th in the nation with a +4.7 turnover margin.
Freddy Hicks notched his third double-double of the season and the seventh in his Texan career. Hicks scored 14 points and grabbed 10 boards against Utah Valley. He notched back-to-back double doubles against Howard Payne and Cameron (OK). Hicks has tallied seven games with 10 rebounds or more, with each resulting in double-doubles while donning Purple and White. He has also scored in double figures 60 times in his Tarleton State career.
Tarleton State leads the nation and leads the WAC with 45.1 bench points per game. The Texans 677 bench points is also the most in the nation in total bench points. The Tarleton State bench has outscored their starters in 11 games this season, with their leading scorer coming off the bench in each. Bench points account for 56.3 percent of their total points. The Texans have notched 60 or more bench points twice.
After two games this season,
Cam McDowell leads the WAC in conference play with 24.5 points per game. He has scored at least 20 in back-to-back games to open league play. McDowell joins Jackson Holcombe as the only two WAC players to score at least 20 in each of the first two conference games this season. McDowell has also been at the top of his game from the free throw line this season. He has connected on 38 of his 41 attempts, 92.5 percent. He ranks 16th in the nation and leads the WAC among qualifiers.
After missing four games this season,
Dior Johnson is just one game away from qualifying for per game leaders in the NCAA. Despite missing four games, he is still 81st in the NCAA and fourth in the WAC with 243 points. Johnson leads the conference and is 40th in the nation with 73 made field goals. he is also the best in the WAC and 66th in the nation with 87 attempts. He is sixth in the league and 161st in the country with 77 made field goals.
California Baptist has dropped each of its first two WAC games, both on the road. The Lancers dropped 71-66 at Utah Valley and 63-51 on Jan. 1 at UTA. Senior guard Dominque Daniels Jr. was also nominated to the Lou Henson Early Season Award Watch List. Daniels is one of four players in the NCAA scoring at least 30 points in a game three times this season. Martel Williams is the second leading scorer on the team, an inter-WAC transfer who spent the first three seasons of his career at Southern Utah. CBU dropped three games against Power Four conference programs, BYU, Colorado and Utah. The Lancers opened the season 7-0 before dropping five of their next eight. California Baptist is 3-4 on the road so far this season. Head coach Rick Croy is in the 13th season at the helm of the Lancer program. Croy helped the Lancers make their transition from D2 to D1 beginning in 2018.
The Texans have won each of the last two meetings in the series in Stephenville. Tarleton State boasted a 17-point win in 2024 in Wisdom Gym, but CBU was without their leading scorer, Dom Daniels Jr. Dominque Daniels Jr. is averaging 15.0 points per game in his four previous appearances in this series.
Freddy Hicks has played in six games in the series, averaging 12.2 points per game with a pair of games scoring 20 or more. Coach Gillispie holds a 1-6 record against the Lancers with his win coming last season in Wisdom Gym. In the previous nine games of the series, four have been decided by single digits.
Tarleton State will close their three-game WAC opening homestand on Jan. 8 against Abilene Christian The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with tip slated for 7 p.m. Early arriving fans will receive purple bang-a-banners.
