STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Men's Basketball hosts Utah Tech on Military Appreciation Night on Saturday at the EECU Center.
The Texans (11-10 overall, 2-6 WAC) will host the Utah Tech (12-11, 5-4) in their second meeting of the year. It will be the first of two in the EECU Center. Two weeks ago, the Texans fell to the Trailblazers, 75-71 in Cedar City.
The is sponsored by the Tarleton State Alumni Association and will be streamed on ESPN+ with
Byron Anderson and Hek'ma Harrison.
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.
Associate head coach
Glynn Cyprien filled in for head coach
Billy Gillispie for the fifth total game and the fourth consecutive last night against Utah Valley. The Texans were also without
Dior Johnson,
Leroy Kelly IV and
Freddy Hicks due to injury.
Dior Johnson and
Cam McDowell are 1-2 in the WAC in scoring per game in conference play. Johnson is averaging 24.8 points per game and McDowell is averaging 19.6. The duo is the only pair of players to rank in the top 2 in their conference in league play in points per game. Tarleton State is one of teams to have two players averaging 20 or more in conference games this season. (Duke, Buffalo, Samford). BYU is the only school with three.
Tarleton State looked ready for the Wolverines on Thursday night starting the game with energy and building an 11-point lead, 32-21 with just over five minutes to play. The Texans did not score in the final 5:29 of the first half surrendering the lead on a 14-0 UVU run to close the half. UVU took the lead for good in the second half and built up to a 30-point lead. TSU was outscored 62-23 in the final 25:29 of the contest.
A common power of all
Billy Gillispie teams has been a strong defense. Once again, this team has one of the best in the country. The Texans lead the nation in forced turnovers per game (18.9) a stat that they ranked second in at the conclusion of last season. The Purple and White top the WAC and the nation with 11.3 steals per game. The Texans are 10-6 this season when they win the turnover battle, 77-52 in their D1 era. Tarleton State also ranks 15th in the NCAA in turnover margin with a +4.2 margin this season.
Dario Domingos is in his final season of collegiate basketball, after spending his junior season with the Texans. Utah Tech is his third stop in the WAC starting at UTA, followed by Tarleton State. Last season, Domingos played at D2 UT Permian Basin where he averaged 13.0 ppg, and 5.8 rpg while starting all 28 contests. He was named Second Team All-LSC. In the first matchup with Tarleton State, Domingos played four minutes, scored two points and picked up three fouls. During his time with the Texans in 2023-24, he averaged 2.9 ppg and 1.7 rpg in 21 games played all off the bench. He scored in double figures twice and had a season high of seven rebounds.
Utah Tech is led in scoring by Ethan Potter, who transferred to St. George for his senior season after spending three years at Utah Valley. St. Bonaventure transfer Noah Bolanga enters his sophomore season as the leading scorer in conference play for UTU. After starting conference play 2-0 with a home win against SUU and a road victory at ACU. Utah Tech then dropped their next two games on the road at CBU and Ut ah Valley and one at home against UTA. They are now one of four teams with at least 5 wins. The only non-conference common opponent between Utah Tech and Tarleton State was Mississippi Valley State who the Trailblazers defeated by six in 2OT. Head coach Jon Judkins is in his 20th season at Utah Tech where he has 330 wins. Overall, he is in his 32nd season with 634 victories.
Tarleton State will head back on the road next week starting at California Baptist before heading to Southern Utah on Saturday. The Texans will take on CBU from the Foster Events Center at 9 p.m. CT on Thursday night.
