- Box Score
ALLEN – The No. 7 Texans faced the Javelinas of Texas A&M-Kingsville in first round action at the LSC Tournament in Allen. After trailing at halftime by three, Tarleton stormed back and got its 19th Lone Star Conference tournament victory, 67-55.
Tarleton got out to a 3-0 lead by the 18:50 mark thanks to a Wes Dipprey free throw and a Fabian Wilson jumper.
TAMUK quickly countered though and tied the game back up at 3-3. That would soon become the theme for the first half of a very balanced ball game.
Every time the Texans would gain any sort of momentum, the Javelinas would come right back with an answer.
Kingsville passed Tarleton at the 13:35 with a score of 10-9. The Javelinas would maintain at least a one-point lead for the next 12 minutes before the Texans caught back up.
Tarleton tied the game back up at 25-25 with under two minutes to go in the first half on a pair of Brian Word free throws.
During that span, the Texans trailed by as much as five, but kept it a two possession game.
Tarleton's defense had stepped it up the final few minutes of the opening period of play, but a three pointer with three seconds on the clock gave TAMUK a 28-25 advantage at the half.
After 20 minutes of play, the Texans shot just 33.3 percent from the floor and were 0-for-6 from three point range. Kingsville on the other hand was shooting 39.1 percent overall and hit five three's, which made the difference in the game.
Tarleton still trailed despite dominating the glass with a 23-11 rebounding advantage. Nine turnovers did not help the Texan cause however.
Wes Dipprey had eight points and four rebounds to lead the way while Fabian Wilson added seven points and six boards.
Robert Williams' eight points were a team-high for Kingsville at the break.
MBB LSC Tourney Round 1 2-29-12 Gallery
The Texans have rallied from larger deficits at the half multiple times this year, and it would take another comeback on Wednesday in Allen.
Tarleton had a better start then they finished the first half and got back out ahead of Kingsville, 31-29 before the first media time out. The Texans relied on their combination of big men to pound the ball inside.
On the following possession, Word gave Tarleton their biggest lead of the game at 33-29. The Texans would hold on to that lead as long as they could knowing the Javelinas would storm right back.
Chris Harrell nailed a big three pointer at the top of the key with 12:57 on the clock to make it a 40-34 contest, but Kingsville countered with a three of their own.
Just when the Texans thought they couldn't get away from the pesky Javelinas, they went on a 15-4 run and took a double-digit lead over Kingsville.
With 4:54 left in the first round contest, Tarleton led 55-44. Now with a comfortable lead, the Texans just needed to be consistent on defense and patient on offense.
A 55-44 margin soon became a 61-50 margin with 1:44 to go in the game.
The Texans kept their well-earned advantage over the final five minutes of the ball game and after a tumultuous first half, cruised into the second round with a victory.
With a final score of 67-55, Tarleton advanced past the first round for the ninth straight season.
This is the Texans' 19th all-time win at the Lone Star Conference tournament.
As a team, Tarleton shot 44.6 percent and held Kingsville to 39.6 percent shooting. The Texans hit 55.2 percent of their shots in the second half and went 5-for-8 from three point range.
After committing nine turnovers in the first half, Tarleton had just three in the second half, and out-rebounded the Javelinas 43-21. The Texans had a season-high 19 offensive rebounds.
Wilson got his sixth double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Dipprey had 18 points and seven boards while Harrell had 11 points and seven boards. Word also go into double-figures with 15 points.
Ryan Layssard led Kingsville with 13 points.
Head coach Lonn Reisman talked to media after the game.
“I thought the Kingsville team was very well prepared,” said Reisman. “Their kids should be commended. It was a very tough, hard fought ball game. We were over-anxious, but finally settled in. At half we said we need to get more than one screen, grind it a little bit, and get into the flow of the game. When we hit that flow, we played well the last 15 minutes of the game.”
Senior forward Wes Dipprey also discussed the game.
“For us seniors, this is all we've got,” said Dipprey. “We put it all on the line. We just have to look at the tournament one game at a time. Now we can take a day off to prepare for the next one.”
Senior guard Chris Harrell talked about the second half adjustments.
“My teammates were moving around real well,” said Harrell. “My job today was creating for open people. We settled down in the second half, I was able to find the open man.”
Tarleton will now face West Texas A&M, the No. 3 seed, on Friday at 6 p.m. in the Allen Event Center.
Live stats, live video and more details can be found at the tournament central on LoneStarConference.org.
For more information regarding the 2011-12 Tarleton basketball postseason, check out TarletonSports.com.
