BOLIVAR, Mo. ? This is what March Madness is all about. Thanks to a three-point shot that banked off the glass from the right wing by senior LaShon Sheffield that beat the buzzer, the No. 13 Tarleton Texans advanced to the NCAA Division II South Central Region finals with a 62-59 victory over the third-seeded Central Missouri State Mules.
“Coach drew up the play, and we just tried to execute it,” Sheffield said. “I heard the crowd counting down, and I just put a shot, and hoped it would go in.”
And go in it did as the Texans won a close game, outscoring the opponents 34-28 in the second half and erasing a three-point halftime deficit.
“This is what tournament time is all about,” said Tarleton head coach Lonn Reisman. “CMSU is a very good team, and for us to beat them two years in a row in the regional tournament was not an easy task. We appreciate the fan base we had, the band and the PANKUS group (People Against Not Knowing University Spirit). It was a great game, and we give God all the glory. We are just thankful for the win.”
LaShon Sheffield hit a three just 11 seconds into the contest to put the Texans up at the beginning as Tarleton jumped out to a 7-0 lead thanks to buckets by John Davis and Nic Gamble. David Hilliard and Michael Hicks each added a free throw to cut the lead to five before Tarleton's Davis had a three-point play the hard way to make it 10-2 Tarleton with 16:48 on the clock.
The two teams traded baskets before CMSU went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to one (12-11) with 11:27 remaining in the half. Nic Gamble ended a five-minute Texan scoring drought with a turnaround jumper in the paint at 10:54. The teams again traded scores before a Wadale Williams three tied the game at 16 with 9:33 on the clock.
Williams would then score two free throws at 5:41 to give CMSU a 20-19 lead before he hit a jumper in the paint to make it 22-19 Mules. Davis would tie the game at 22 with 4:43 remaining to end a four-minute scoring drought for Tarleton. The Mules would outscore Tarleton 9-6 in the remaining moments of the first half to head into intermission with a 31-28 advantage.
The Mules started the second half like they ended the first, and scored six of the first seven points. Daivs then had a three for the Texans at 17:33 before Gamble had a fastbreak layup. Derek Atwood then had a jumper in the paint to pull the Texans within one, 37-36. Aragon then got a steal and a dunk to put the Texans back up by one (38-37) with 15:09 remaining in the period.
Davis powered in a shot from underneath the basket at 14:04, and he was fouled in the process. The Texan junior missed the bonus, but Tarleton led 40-37. He then got a putback dunk on the return trip to stretch the lead to 42-37 with 13:32 on the clock prior to the Texans drew a charge on the opposite end. The basket ended a 15-0 run by Tarleton.
CMSU then went on a 9-0 run of its own to take a 46-44 lead with 10:17 on the clock. Davis then tied the game at 44 with 9:55 on the clock when Aragon hit him on an alley-oop. Gamble added a bucket to put the Texans up by two at 7:49. With CMSU ahead 49-48, Davis and Sheffield each had two made bonus shots, putting Tarleton ahead 52-49.
CMSU tied the game at 52 at 4:26 with a free throw by Dwight Williams and two bonus shots by Michael Hicks. Wadale Williams had a jumper to put CMSU ahead by two, but Sheffield had two free throws to tie the game at 54 with 2:51 on the clock. Sheffield hit a three with 1:46 on the clock to return the led to the Texans, but Hicks had a three on the opposite end at 1:26 to tie the game again.
The Mules' Hicks had two free throws with 49.0 on the clock to tie the game again, this time at 59. Sheffield missed a bucket with 13.1 on the clock, but the Texans got the rebound. The senior then banked a shot off the backboard at the buzzer to send the Texans to their second straight South Central Region championship game.
Davis led the team with 22 points and nine rebounds while Sheffield (16) and Gamble (15) each recorded double figures.
Tarleton averaged .489 from the floor (23-47), .429 from the three-point arc (6-14) and .588 from the charity stripe (10-17).
CMSU was led by Hicks with 19 points while Wadale Williams (12) and Corey Brown (11) scored in double digits. Hicks led the squad with seven rebounds.
The Mules averaged .426 from the field (20-47), .318 from the arc (7-22) and .545 at the line (12-22).
The Texans will play the winner of the Southwest Baptist/Northwest Missouri State contest in the regional finals, scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 14.
