No. 10 Texans grind way past UCCS, 73-64

Chambers named MVP; Camidge, Jenkins also all-tournament

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Photo by Dr. CHET MARTIN

Special to The Flash
TheFlashToday.com

STEPHENVILLE (November 13, 2016) – No. 10 Tarleton overcame a seven-point first-half deficit to top Colorado-Colorado Springs 73-64 and sweep the Whataburger Tip-Off Classic at Wisdom Gym on Saturday.

For the second straight game, Ridell Camidge, who was named to the all-tournament team, led all scorers with 17 points as three Texans scored in double figures. Joining Camidge (16.5 points) on the all-tournament team was Romond Jenkins (9.5 points, 12 rebounds) and tournament MVP Chantz Chambers (14 points, 4.5 steals, 7 steals). Tarleton (2-0) has now won ten straight games in the Tip-Off Classic and is 25-1 all-time in its own tournament.

Tarleton got out to a near-perfect start, opening up with a 19-6 run in the first 4:32 of the game while shooting 75 percent from the floor and committing zero turnovers. However, the Mountain Lions went on a tear with 15-0 run over the next seven minutes of play to jump ahead of the Texans, 21-19.

Tarleton would face its biggest deficit at 32-25 with 3:57 to go in the first half, but the Texans went on a 7-2 run to close the half and trailed 34-32 heading into the locker room. Tarleton shot 41.9 percent from the floor in the first twenty minutes of play and committed eight turnovers while UCCS shot 48 percent.


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Limiting the turnovers played a huge part in Tarleton’s second-half comeback. The Texans only turned the ball over four times in the second half while forcing the Mountain Lions into a dozen mishaps to shift the momentum.

Anthony Davis, a redshirt freshman, played like a seasoned veteran at times and was looked to offensively throughout the game while using his high intensity to put the team and crowd on his back late in the game. Davis opened the second half with a quick layup to tie the score at 34 and would later follow with a turnaround jumper for a 46-43 lead in which Tarleton would never trail again. Davis added eight second-half points to finish the night with a career-best 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting.

Although UCCS never took the lead after Davis’ bucket, the Mountain Lions stayed on the Texans’ heals in the final minutes. UCCS cut the lead to 54-53 with 6:52 to go when Chambers went coast-to-coast for a layup and a three-point lead. Chambers scored 13 points for Tarleton, including going 7-of-8 from the free-throw line down the stretch to close the game. The senior guard also set a career high in steals for the second straight game, coming up with four steals on the evening.

Camidge drilled a pair of three pointers in a minute and a half span that gave Tarleton leads of four and seven points with 3:12 to go. Camidge scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half on 4-of-10 shooting and going a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.

The Texans were outrebounded 21-13 in the first half, but won the rebounding battle in the second half (+4) with Romond Jenkins controlling the paint with a game-high nine rebounds and a blocking the game’s final shot attempt to end the game.

Tarleton had 18 points off the bench, led by Josh Hawley‘s seven points and Denzel Smith adding five points. Stephen Edwards scored four points and had a pair of assists.

Tarleton will host Concordia University (Calif.) on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 4 p.m. in Wisdom Gym.


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TheFlashToday.com photos by Dr. CHET MARTIN

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