STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Men's Basketball won a back-and-forth battle against Alcorn State, 73-69, on Friday night at the EECU Center.
The Texans (4-1) trailed the entire first half but used a strong half to claim their third-straight home victory to open the season. The Braves (0-4) lost their first-ever meeting against the Purple and White. Tarleton State improves to 3-0 in the EECU Center this season and 13-6 all-time. The Texans are now 65-23 at home in the Division I era.
"The key is that we are still finding ways to win," said head coach
Eric Haut. "We are still getting different guys to step up game to game. It's all about our strength in numbers. We have a lot of good players on this roster. We have a lot of depth and on different nights its going to be different guys that lead us in scoring."
Franck Emmou became the fourth different Texan to lead the Texans in scoring with 17. He shot six-for-10 from the floor and two-for-three from deep and three of his four free throws. He tied for the team-lead with three assists in 36 minutes.
Trey Harris scored in double figures for the first time this season. The fifth-year guard notched 15 points and also added four boards. He made six of his 11 shots from the floor and a pair from deep in 22 minutes off the bench.
Josh Hayes notched his second-straight double-double recording 11 points and 11 boards. Hayes also added a game-high five blocks, his second game with at least five in his first three games as a Texan. The senior made five of his six shots from the floor and also added a steal.
Alcorn State came out of the gates ready to roll and never trailed throughout the first half. The Braves opened with a triple on their first possession, followed by three Texan points to tie the game at three. The Braves retook the lead with an 8-0 run and kept the lead without any more tied for the remainder of the half. Alcorn State led by as many as 10 in the first half taking a 16-6 lead near the midpoint of the half.
Emmou knocked down the Texans' first three-pointer of the game as part of a 5-0 run to bring the Texan deficit down to four with 7:18 to go in the half. In the final seven minutes Alcorn State brought their lead back up to as many eight. In the final 2:25 the Texans used a 6-0 run to bring their deficit down to two, 31-29 with a minute remaining. Alcorn State added the final basket of the half to take a 33-29 lead into the half, the first time this season that the Texans trailed at the break.
The Texans took their first lead of the game, 36-35, just 2:27 into the second half on an Emmou triple. The two squads each scored on their next two possessions to result in four lead changes. The Texans strung together a 7-2 run to take a five-point lead, 45-40 six minutes into the second session. Harris knocked down his second triple of the night to put the Texans up six just a minute later.
But the Braves didn't go away easy. Alcorn State rattled off a 5-0 run to cut their deficit to two just past the halfway point. The Texans led by six with 6:32 to go, but Alcorn State tied the game at 61 on an 8-2 run in just over a minute. Alcorn extended their run to 10-2 off a pair of made free throws.
Leroy Kelly IV gave the Texan the lead back on a layup in the paint with three minutes to go. The final two minutes included a back-and-forth attack with Kelly IV breaking a 66-66 deadlock with a bucket with just one minute to go.
In the final minute, the Texans went up four off a pair of clutch made free throws from
TJ Cope. On the ensuing possession, Alcorn State's Trey Thomas buried a triple from 30 feet to bring the Braves within one, 70-69 with 44 ticks to go. The Texans responded on the next possession with a put back from Hayes to go back up by three. After a Texan stop, Harris iced the game with free throw to give the Texans a four-point victory, 73-69.
Tarleton State shot 45.3 percent from the floor (29-for-64) and 17.4 percent from the floor (4-for-23). They also shot 11-for-20, a 55.5 percent rate from the free throw line. Alcorn State shot 40 percent from the floor, 27.3 percent from the free throw line and 68.8 percent from the charity stripe. The Texans won the battle of the boards, 41-39 and the turnover battle forcing 13 and committing 11. The Texans recorded assists on 11 of their 29 made baskets.
Tarleton State will not be back at home in the EECU Center for the rest of November. The Texans will begin a four-game road trip on Monday night at Drake. The game is slated for 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
