ABILENE, Texas — Tarleton State Men's Basketball fell in the late stages of the contest at Abilene Christian, 73-59, on Valentine's Day on Saturday night at the Moody Coliseum.

The Texans (12-13 overall, 3-9 WAC) drop their second game of the season to the Wildcats (12-13, 4-8). The two schools will meet for the final time in the regular season on Monday at the EECU Center. Tarleton State lead by 10 with just over eight minutes to play in the second half. The Wildcats didn't lead in the second half until just over three minutes left. ACU outscored the Texans, 27-9 after a costly Texan technical foul and 15-4 in the final two minutes of the game.

Kade Douglas for the second time this season with 13. He made three triples and shot four-for-six from the floor. He was one of four Texans to score in double figures. Andy Sigiscar and Jordan Mizell each scored 12 and DJ Dormu added 10. Sigiscar scored in double figures for the third straight game. He also led the team with three blocks. Dormu also posted a team-best three steals. The Texans did not have a single player with more than three rebounds.

Sigiscar sparked the Texans with a two-handed slam to start the scoring and tie the game at two. The game started as a back-and-forth affair with three ties in the first six minutes. Tied at seven, ACU rattled off a 4-0 run to take a four-point lead, their largest of the half. The Wildcats controlled the lead over the next several minutes, but their advantage was never more than four.

Trailing 15-12 with nine minutes left in the first half, the Texans took control to end the half. The Purple and White ran off a 7-0 run to take the lead, one which they held for the remainder of the half. Freddy Hicks started the run with a bucket followed by a Douglas triple. A mini 4-0 Texan run started with a Dormu jumper and then a Dormu steal set up Sigiscar for yet another first half slam.

In the final minutes of the half, the Texans made five of their six free throws. The Texans led by as many as nine with 1:32 to go. The Purple and White used another 7-0 run started by a pair of made free throws capped by a Sigiscar dunk and a Thomas mid-range jumper. Tarleton State held the lead into the halftime break, 32-26.

Coming out of the intermission, the Texans used a 6-0 run to take a 12-point advantage. Ocypher Owens made a jumper followed by back-to-back Jordan Mizell buckets to spark the run. The Texans kept the pressure in the first 10 minutes of the second half keeping their lead to at least six for the first 12 minutes. The Purple and White lead stayed in double digits for the majority of the first 10 minutes of the half.

After Douglas hit a deep triple as the shot clock expired to put the Texans ahead 50-40 with 8:49 to go, the momentum switched. Douglas was assessed with a technical foul and the Wildcats made a pair of free throws to cut their deficit to eight. In less than a minute later, the ACU run extended to 7-0 and brought the Wildcats within three, 50-47. Mizell responded with a jumper to put the Texas back ahead five, but back-to-back buckets from the home team made it a one-point game with 5:53 to go. 

ACU took their first lead of the second half on a pair of free throws with 3:20 to go in the game. The squad continued its run to seven straight to lead 58-53 with just over two minutes to go. The Texans cut their deficit to three with 2:16 left, but it never got any smaller. Abilene Christian ran off a 15-4 run in the final two minutes to clinch the season series with a 73-59 victory.

The Texans shot 46.8 percent from the floor, making 22 of their 47 shots. The squad shot 33.3 percent from deep. ACU shot 42.6 percent from the floor and 34.8 percent from beyond the arc. The Texans forced 20 turnovers for the fifth time this season and won the turnover battle, 22-21. The Wildcats won the battle of the boards, 37-24.

Tarleton State will face the same Wildcats in just over 48 hours after the conclusion of Saturday's game at the EECU Center. The Texans will host ACU on Monday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.