STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton State put on a defensive showcase against Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday night as the No. 3 Texans returned to the win column with a physical 59-44 victory over the Javelinas in Wisdom Gym.
 
With Tarleton State leading 42-41 with 7:47 left in the game, the Texan defense showed the Javelinas why they boast on of the nation's top defenses by holding Kingsville without a field goal and to just three free throws over the rest of the game.
 
Tarleton quickly lost its 42-41 lead on the next Kingsville possession when the Javelinas hit two of those final three free throws to lead 43-42 with 6:28 left in the half.
 
TaShawn Mabry answered the call as the senior from Rocky Mount, North Carolina hit a free throw, a jumper and tipped in a missed shot for five consecutive points to put Tarleton back on top 47-43. Mo Lee capped off the quick turnaround with a step-back 3-ball in front of the Tarleton bench to erupt the crowd over 1,600 at Wisdom Gym and give the Texans a 50-43 advantage with 2:40 left.
 
After Kingsville got its final point of the night to make it 50-44, Michael Hardge extended the lead with five straight free throws over the next three Tarleton possessions to push the lead to 55-44 before Malcolm Hamilton threw down a vicious dunk – in spite of an intentional foul – for two more points, two technical free throws and possession with 1:43 left in the game.
 
Hamilton hit one of the free throws and Mo Lee added another one with 1:27 on the clock to bring the game to its final score.
 
Throughout the first half and the opening 12 minutes of the game, the contest was a back-and-forth battle with Tarleton's five-point advantage at 10:43 in the second half being the biggest lead for either team until the final 2:40. The lead changed 16 times and the score was tied five times during the first 32:13 of the game.
 
Michael Hardge, who is coming off a career-high 17-point effort Wednesday night, recorded his second consecutive career-best performance with his first 20-point game as a Texan. The junior point guard was 4-8 from the floor, 1-3 from downtown and 11-15 at the charity stripe while also grabbing three boards, dishing out two assists and getting a steal.
 
Lee cracked double figures with 10 points while Mabry, Davene Carter and Hamilton added nine, eight and eight, respectively. Damion Clemons (2), Deshawn Riddick (1) and EJ Reed (1) rounded out the scoring for Tarleton.
 
As a team, the Texans shot 39 percent from the floor and 66 percent from the charity stripe while holding the Javelinas to 32 percent from the floor and 21 percent from downtown.
 
Tarleton State and Midwestern State will renew its storied basketball rivalry Wednesday night in Wisdom Gym when the Texans and Mustangs tip-off at 7:30 p.m.