ALLEN – The No. 7 Tarleton men's basketball team herded the Buffs with a huge second half and took home a 59-37 final Friday night.  It set a new LSC tournament record for the fewest points allowed in the history of the event.

The Texans knew what it felt like to lose to the Buffs recently and that was most likely in their mindset as the teams took the court.  Tarleton came out of the gate ready to go while WT was lethargic.

It was tough to say who was playing better at the start of the game, Tarleton's stifling defense or its methodical offense.

Through the first eight minutes of action, the Texans jumped out to a 10-0 lead.  During that span, WT was 0-for-8 from the field and committed four turnovers.

The Buffs scored the first basket at the 12:05 mark in the first half, which goes to show how well the Texans were playing defensively.

Tarleton was not going to take it lightly on WT though and held them scoreless once again until the 8:06 point in the first half, where it was 10-5 in favor of the Texans.

It wouldn't be the Lone Star Conference Tournament though without drama as the Buffs climbed back into the game.  After leading 10-0, the Texans were now up 15-13 with 2:45 left in the first half.

WT managed to fight all the way back and tied the game up at 17-17 with 27 seconds to go, but Warren Webb's huge bucket and free throw gave Tarleton a 20-17 advantage entering the break.

The Texans had dominated the first 10 minutes of the game, while the Buffs controlled the second 10 minutes.

Through the first 20 minutes of play, Tarleton shot 34.8 percent from the floor and held WT to 36.4 percent shooting.

Brian Word and Shedrick Haynes both had five points apiece to lead the way, while Webb added four points and five boards.

Donald Sims was the main threat for the Buffs, scoring eight points on 4-of-6 shooting.  WT also controlled the paint for a 14-8 advantage.

The second half started with the Texans extending their lead to 30-19 with 15 minutes to go in the game.

After leading by three to start the half, Tarleton began the second period of play on a 14-4 run.

The Texans continued to follow their defensive prowess into the second media timeout of the half and held a 41-28 lead over the Buffs.

Around the 7:46 mark of the second half, it was evident that WT just didn't have enough energy or effort to make a comeback as the Buffs trailed the No. 7 Texans 46-28.

With 7:02 to go, a particular play stood out because it all but deflated the WT players, coaches and fan base.  Brian Word took an errant alley-oop from the side of the basket, tipped it back to Fabian Wilson, who then slammed it home on a spinning reverse dunk.  The Tarleton fans in attendance went wild and made a point that the Texans were here for the long haul.

From that point on, WT just went through the motions and never put up much of a fight against the Texan defense.

Tarleton extended their advantage to 21 points with just over four minutes to go, their largest lead of the ball game.

The Texans maintained their lead and in the end, moved on to the finals with a 59-37 victory.

Tarleton set a new tournament record in the process with the fewest points allowed, a record that has stood since 1982.

Overall, the Texans shot 51 percent from the field and out-rebounded WT 36-21.  A feat that is noteworthy due to the fact that the Buffs were the No. 1 rebounding team in the LSC.

Brian Word tied a season high with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go with six rebounds and two steals.  Fabian Wilson was all over the stat sheet with nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

After nine first half turnovers, the Texans only committed two in the second half.

WT entered the game atop the conference in field goal percentage with 47 percent, but managed just 37 percent against Tarleton.

Head coach Lonn Reisman talked about the game in the press conference afterwards.

“West Texas was undermanned without (Kennon) Washington,” said Reisman.  “That's very hard to lose a player at this point in the year. We played very well tonight though and we didn't want to lose opportunities.  We needed to come out ready in the second half.  We relaxed after the big lead in the first half and it came back on us. Our guys played a smart, tough second half.  It is very hard to hold West Texas to 37 points, but our game plan was great.”

Coach Reisman also talked about making a third straight trip to the LSC Tourament Finals.

“It's an honor to be in the finals again because it is so hard to get here,” said Reisman. “So many great teams in the conference, even the ones that aren't here.  It is a special moment to make it three years in a row.  Our goal to make the tournament every year and go as far as we can go.”

Junior guard Brian Word talked about his season effort.

“In the second half, we started playing together and played team defense,” said Word.  “We contained the ball and shut the shooters down.  I'm just playing for my guys, for the seniors.”

Senior forward Fabian Wilson discussed the game as well.

“We started playing our basketball and grinding it out,” said Wilson. “We like to take shots under 15 seconds, and things get easier for us like it did in the second half. Coach (Reisman) preaches team defense and that's what we try to do every day.”

Tarleton will have little time to rest though and will face Midwestern State on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Allen Event Center.

Live stats and tournament information can be found on LoneStarConference.org.

For more information regarding the 2011-12 Texan basketball season, check out TarletonSports.com.