By BRAD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com
Sport: STEPHENVILLE (January 28, 2015) — No. 12 Tarleton State (17-2) knocked down 16 3-pointers and five Texans scored in double digits in an easy 89-42 rout of McMurry (5-10) at Wisdom Gym Wednesday night.
Mo Lee had 21 points and nine rebounds to lead all players in both categories, and he also dealt five assists. He was 8-11 from the floor including 5-7 from the arc, where Tarleton was a strong 16-32. The Texans attempted more 3-pointers than they did 2-point field goals, and made almost as many on their way to 56.5 percent shooting overall.
Ball movement was the key – the Texans had 26 assists including a career eight by junior point guard Michael Hardge.
“They were in a zone a lot of the game, and we know the way to beat a zone is to move the ball a lot,” said Lee. “As a shooter, especially with a guy like Hardge, you just have to be ready to catch and shoot, because when he drives he draws a lot of attention.”
EJ Reed, a junior transfer from Division I Long Island-Brooklyn, scored his most points at Tarleton with 18 while collecting six rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocks.
“I’m very proud of how far EJ Reed has come in our system,” said Tarleton head coach Lonn Reisman. “He had not yet bought in to the way we do things when the season started, so we kept him on the bench most of the time. Since he’s bought in, he’s been playing very well and getting better every day.”
True freshman Nosa Ebomwonyi matched his career high with 14, while reigning Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week TaShawn Mabry and Malcolm Hamilton each netted 13. Hamilton also grabbed seven rebounds.
Tarleton out-rebounded the Warhawks 40-23, their third straight game win the battle of the glass and their second straight to do so by a significant margin. They out-boarded Eastern New Mexico 40-21 last Saturday.
This time the rebounding advantage meant a 23-5 margin in second-chance points to go along with a 26-6 difference in points off turnovers, 32-16 in the paint and 23-10 off the bench.
Tarleton limited McMurry to just 34.1 percent shooting, including only 2-12 (16.7 percent) from the arc. McMurry had just one double-digit scorer – Connor Robinson with 10. No Warhawk player had more than four rebounds.
The victory came in a one-game break from LSC play, which for Tarleton resumes on Saturday. The Texans visit A&M-Commerce with outright possession of third place on the line. The game begins at approximately 6 p.m. following a 4 p.m. women’s contest.
“This game was a lot of fun, it’s always fun when you win,” said Lee. “Now we got to go get a hard team win on the road.”
Notes: Tarleton’s school record for 3-pointers in a game is 17, set on January 20, 1996 against Central Oklahoma…Tarleton won its seventh straight against McMurry and improved to 10-3 against the Warhawks under Reisman, though McMurry still leads the all-time series 39-17.
Be the first to comment