Strong second half lifts No. 15 Tarleton past WNMU

deshawn-riddick-feature — Deshawn Riddick scored 20 points Thursday-. Tarleton State, however, came up two points short against Angelo State. || tFlash media library

By BRAD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com

(December 8, 2016) — Deshawn Riddick went 4-6 from outside the arc and No. 15 Tarleton State (7-1, 3-0) knocked down 11 3-pointers while overcoming a sluggish first half in a 70-49 thumping of Western New Mexico (1-7, 0-3) in Lone Star Conference action at Drag’s Court Thursday night in Silver City.

Riddick was 5-7 from the floor and scored 17 points to lead Tarleton. Backcourt mate Chantz Chambers added 13. The Texans were 11-25 from 3-point range, and were better than that, 11-22, when the starters left the game late in the second half.

Tarleton outscored the Mustangs 41-23 after halftime, breaking it open with a 25-5 run that made it 64-39 with three minutes remaining. It was 39-34 before the Texan explosion, which began with four three pointers by four different players – Josh Hawley, Denzel Smith, Kealon Clayborne and Riddick, the last making it 51-34.

The lead grew to 58-38 on a 3 by Chambers with 5:32 remaining, and the senior guard hit a jumper to conclude the run with 3:01 left.

Tarleton was 11-25 from 3-point range after going 10-19 against Cameron last Saturday in Stephenville. It’s the first time the Texans have hit 10 or more 3-pointers in back-to-back games since January 24 and 28, 2015. They were 10-17 from 3 at Eastern New Mexico then 16-32 from deep at home against McMurry.

Tarleton shot 44.7 percent in its first road game of the season, including 53.8 percent in the second half when they were 6-12 from outside the arc. Romond Jenkins scored eight points and grabbed nine boards while going just 2-11 from the free throw line.

Tarleton needed the strong second half after allowing WNMU to hang around through the first 20 minutes.

The Mustangs, only the second team this season to out-rebound Tarleton with a 38-35 advantage, were tied up as late as 20-20 and trailed the Texans just 29-26 at halftime. But WNMU shot only 30.2 percent including going 6-28 from 3-point range. Both teams attempted more 3-point shots than 2-pointers.

Western New Mexico was led by Willie McCray with 18 points and Jordan Enriquez with 13.

The Texans visit Eastern New Mexico at 8 p.m. (CST) Saturday.