STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Men's Basketball won its second-straight home game to begin the season with a victory over UT Dallas, 76-57, on Tuesday night at the EECU Center.
The Texans (2-1) won their first-ever meeting with the Comets, which the game counted as an exhibition for their squad. Tarleton State improves to 2-0 in the EECU Center this season and 12-6 all-time in the EECU Center. The Texans are now 64-23 at home in the Division I era.
"We have a lot quality depth and what we are doing right now is that we are able to play different guys," said head coach
Eric Haut post game. "They are getting a lot of game experience, and it well bode well for us when we get into conference play. Right now, we are continuing to get better. Our guys play really hard and unselfish at practice, and it is good to see that carry into games."
Brett Freeman led the Texans in scoring for the first time in his career with 21 points. Freeman connected on seven of his 14 shots from the floor and was 3-for-6 from deep. He was also four-for-five from the free throw line. The sophomore scored in double figures for the second time this season after opening the year with 12 against Cameron.
Leroy Kelly IV notched his second-straight double-double in the EECU Center after recording the first of his collegiate career in the season opener. Kelly IV posted 16 points and 12 boards. The sophomore broke his career record in rebounds for the second-straight home game notching two more than his 10 in the season opener. The Dallas, TX, native, also led the Purple and White with three steals.
Josh Hayes notched his first double-double as a Texan with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The senior tied the Texans D1 era record with nine offensive rebounds. He matches KiAndre Gaddy's total he achieved twice, with the last coming at the SoCal Challenge title game against Cal State Bakersfield on Nov. 23, 2023. He was just two shy of Romond Jenkins' program record set in 2017. Hayes shot four-of-seven from the floor and six-for-ten from the charity stripe. He also recorded one block after notching six last game at San Diego.
In his first home game and start as a Texan, Hayes scored the first bucket for the Purple and White. The two teams then traded buckets with three ties and two lead changes. The game was tied for the final time at 10, before a three-point play from
Trey Harris broke the tie. Tarleton State held the led for the rest of the 33:10 of the game. The Texan lead hovered around five through the midpoint of the half.
With the Purple and White leading, 19-16, the squad ran off a 12-0 run to take a 14-point lead. Freeman contributed nine of the 12 on the run including a triple. Freeman closed the half sinking a trio of free throws after entering the game for
Franck Emmou who was unable to shoot his freebies. Freeman led all scorers with 12 at the end of the first 20 minutes.
The Texans controlled the second half the entire 20 minutes. Freeman rattled off a 5-0 run of his own to push the Purple and White to an 18-point advantage. Shortly after, the Texans used a 10-0 run to take a 25-point lead just over five minutes into the second half. Kelly IV knocked down his second triple of the half to put the Texans up 30, 62-32, with just under 10 minutes left.
Tarleton State led the rebounding battle, 49-44 and the turnover battle forcing 13 and committing 12. The Texans notched seven blocks and eight assists with the Comets notching five blocks and eight steals. The Purple and White shot 41.4 percent from the floor (24-for-58), 31.3 percent (5-for-16) and 67.6 percent (23-for-34) from the free throw line. The UT Dallas shot 26.3 percent from the floor (20-for-76), 26.8 percent (11-for-41) and 60.0 percent (6-for-10) from the free throw line.
Tarleton State will be back in action on Friday night. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. against Alcorn State also at the EECU Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
