STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Men's Basketball dropped on Thursday night to Utah Valley, 83-55 in the EECU Center.
 
The Texans (11-10 overall, 2-6 WAC) fell to the Wolverines (16-6, 6-3) for the second time this season. Tarleton State will head to Orem to take on Utah Valley on Feb. 26.
 
Kaia Isaac led the Texans in scoring with 13, the Texans eighth different leading scorer this season. Cam McDowell also contributed in double figures with 12. Chris Mpaka notched a team-best four blocks. Ocypher Owens and Jordan Mizell each nabbed a team-high three steals.
 
Head coach Billy Gillispie missed his fifth game of the season as he was under the weather. Associate head coach Glynn Cyprien filled in for him on the bench. The Texans were also without Freddy Hicks, Dior Johnson and Leroy Kelly IV all sidelined to injury.
 
The first four Texan points of the contest all came from the free throw line. Then, it was McDowell's turn to catch fire. McDowell knocked down a pair of triples to put the Texans ahead by four, 12-8. He sparked a 7-0 Texan run pair with a jumper and a dunk from Mpaka. Fresh off the bench, Damion Porter Jr. sunk his first triple of the season to put the Purple and White in front, 17-10.
 
Over the next few minutes, a mini Utah Valley run brought their deficit down to just three, 19-16 at the midpoint of the half. Isaac responded with a straightaway three pointer  to put the Texans back ahead by six. After UVU answered with a triple of their own, Isaac drilled another one to put the squad back ahead by six.
 
Tarleton State led by as many as 11 in the first half after Ocypher Owens made a trio of free throws. With the Texans leading 32-21 with 5:25 to go, the Wolverines answered with a 14-0 run to the end half. During the burst, UVU made five shots from the floor  and shot a perfect four-for-four from the charity stripe. The Texans did not make a shot from the floor in the final 6:21 of the half.
 
In the beginning of the second half, the Texans snapped the drought with a 3-0 run to tie the game at 35. Isaac knocked down a jumper followed by an Andy Sigiscar free throw to get the Texans back on track. The two squads swapped free throws with the game tied again at 37. McDowell tied the game at 39 on a pair of made free throws. But, the Wolverines took the lead back on a triple. The two squads swapped baskets over the next few minutes with the Wolverines maintaining a 44-43 advantage, UVU ran off an 11-0 run to take a 12-point lead with 10 minutes left.
 
McDowell grabbed a steal and found DJ Dormu sprinting to the basket for two to stop the streak. The Wolverines ran off a 10-1 run to expand their lead to 19 with just over six minutes remaining. In the final six minutes Utah Valley sealed their second victory in the EECU Center on a 17-9 run to take the 83-55 victory.
 
The Texans shot 28.3 percent from the floor making 15 of their 53 shots from the floor. Tarleton State shot 20-for-29 from the charity stripe, a 69.0 percent clip. The Texans won the turnover battle forcing 20 while committing 19. UVU won the battle of the glass, 38-26. Utah Valley shot 8-for-16 from three-point land and 30-for-54 from the field, 55.6 percent.
 
Tarleton State will round out their week on Saturday, hosting Utah Tech for the first time in the EECU Center with tip slated for 4 pm.