STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Men's Basketball picked up their first win of the season over Abilene Christian in their third and final meeting with a 65-62 overtime thriller on Monday night at the EECU Center.

The Texans (13-13 overall, 4-9 WAC) are now tied with the Wildcats (12-14, 4-9) for sixth in the WAC. The Texans are just one game behind Southern Utah for fifth and two games behind UT Arlington for fourth, with one game remaining against each of those teams, both the first meeting of the season at home.

Tonight was a really good team victory tonight for the Texans," said acting head coach Glynn Cyprien. "We had some guys step up and make big plays down the stretch on both ends. Everyone that played really contributed to this victory tonight. It was a really good enthusiastic crowd, a really good college basketball game and I'm proud of our guys."

Kade Douglas led the team in scoring for the third time this season. He became the third Texan to score at least 20 points in a single game this season. The junior set a new career high with 24 points making eight of his 16 shots from the floor. He made three from deep and shot a perfect five-for-five from the charity stripe. He also added three rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Jordan Mizell scored the game-winning bucket with eight seconds left on the clock. He drove the lane with the shot clock ticking down drew the foul and sunk the layup. The sophomore was the only other Texans to score in double figures with a career-best, 18. He grabbed four rebounds and tied for the team lead with four steals. He also posted a team-high two helpers.

"I just listened to coach, knowing the situation," said Mizell postgame. "I knew we were in the double bonus so drive hard to the rim and make the ref call the foul. If he doesn't foul me, I'm going to finish the layup. If he does, then I get two free throws and I only had to make one of them."

Freddy Hicks posted a team-best three blocks and tied for the team-lead with four steals. Andy Sigiscar grabbed a team-high five rebounds and also added seven points and two blocks.

The first half started slow with the Texans not scoring from the floor. The Purple and White saw their first shot fall from the field just over six minutes into the game. Douglas sparked the offense with a steal after a Wildcats defensive rebound and a layup to bring the Texans within one, 6-5. On the very next Texan possession, Doulgas popped a pullup three-pointer to tie the game at eight. Douglas kept his hot streak with another layup to score seven-straight Texan points.

A few minutes later, Douglas was back at it. He went on a 4-0 run to tie the game at 14 and give the Purple and White a 16-14 advantage, their first of the half after leading, 1-0. His 4-0 spurt grew to a 6-0 Texan run with a pair of made free throws from Mizell. ACU retook the lead with an 8-0 run to take a 25-22 lead into the break.

Kade Douglas led all scorers with 13 first half points. The Texans held the Wildcats to 25 points, the second lowest by an opponent this season. The Purple and White's 22 first half points was their least of the season.

The Texans tied the game to start the second half on a 6-2 run in the first two minutes. Sigiscar scored on the Texans first possession. ACU broke the tie on a 4-0 run and held the lead over the next eight minutes. The Texans cut their deficit down to one twice during the stretch after a Mizell layup.

With just under eight minutes to play, Douglas brought the Texans back within one on a three-point and-one play. Mizell tied the game on the next Texan possession making one of his two freebies. The Wildcats responded with a 4-0 run. Trailing by five, Mizell brought the Texans back within two after a converted and-one layup. After an ACU missed shot, Douglas put the Texans in the lead with a deep triple to put the Purple and White ahead, 53-52. The Texans kept the pressure forcing ACU to a shot clock violation and then upping their lead to three after a pair of DJ Dormu made free throws to put the Texans ahead, 55-52.

With 47 seconds left, ACU made a pair of free throws to bring the Wildcats back within one, 55-54. On the next possession, the Texans missed a shot with 18 seconds on the clock, but a key offensive rebound from Ocypher Owens gave the ball back to the Texans. He was fouled and sent to the line where he made both of his free throws. ACU was sent to the line and made both of their free throws to tighten the Texans lead to one, 57-56. Owens was fouled on the inbound and was sent to the line. After he made his second of two, ACU drove the floor and was fouled at midcourt. After making both of their free throws to tie the game. The Texans were unable to land a heave in the final seconds sending the game to overtime.

In the first Texan possession of overtime, Mizell drove the length of the court for two to put the Texans ahead, 60-58. The Purple and White scored the first four of the period, following up with a pair of made free throws from Kaia Isaac. ACU tied the game at 62 after back-to-back driving layups with 37 ticks left. The Texans called a timeout and set up Mizell who drove the lane with seconds left on the shot clock where he made contact with a Wildcat defender drawing the foul and sinking the bucket. After converting the and-one opportunity, the Texan defense kept the Wildcats from scoring to secure the 65-62 overtime victory.

The Texans shot 18-for-41 from the floor, a 43.9 percent clip. Tarleton State held the Wildcats to shoot 37 percent from the floor, making 23 of their 62 attempts. ACU made just two of their 19 shots from deep, an 11 percent rate. The Wildcats won the battle of the boards, 42-28. The Texans won the turnover battle, 20-19. 

The Texans will continue its three games in a week slate at home on Thursday against Utah Valley. It marks one of the biggest promos of the season as the Texans host $1 beer and $1 hot dog night while supporting Greek Night as well at the EECU Center. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.