Tarleton, WTAMU meet as co-leaders in LSC

Chantz Chambers feature — Tarleton and double-digit scorer Chantz Chambers welcome West Texas A&M and LSC leading scorer David Chavlovich to Wisdom Gym Thursday. || Photo courtesy NATE BURAL/Tarleton Athletic Communications

STEPHENVILLE (January 18, 2019) — For the second time in hardly more than a week, Tarleton State is hosting a game between teams tied for the lead in the parity-filled Lone Star Conference.

The No. 11 Texans (15-2, 6-1) welcome No. 12 West Texas A&M (18-2, 6-1) to Wisdom Gym at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, following a 5:30 p.m. women’s contest (preview coming Thursday on The Flash).

West Texas A&M has had a resurgence under third-year head coach Tom Brown, who has challenged the typical style of play in the LSC with his up-and-down, run-and-gun philosophy that has led to exactly 90 points per game and junior guard David Chavlovich being just 75 points shy of the Buffs’ career scoring record.

Not that Tarleton has exactly played a slow pace or thrived on low scoring games itself this season. The Texans are averaging 82.4 points and lead the LSC with a score margin of 18.8 with WT second at 13.2.

But that doesn’t mean veteran head coach Lonn Reisman, who on Saturday celebrated his 400th win inside Wisdom Gym, wants to see his Texans get into a track meet with the Buffs.

“They like to play the game fast, and from what we’ve seen they do so very effectively,” said Reisman. “You have to get down the court and get a hand in their shooters’ faces because they like to shoot quickly and that’s when they are at their best.”

Chavlovich is the highest scoring player in the league at 20.7 points per game, one-tenth more than Angelo State guard Quay King. Chavlovich has 1,491 career points and is chasing the WT record of 1,566 set from 1993-97 by Martin Lattibeaudiere. The junior guard is expected to play after sitting out during the Buffs’ 80-65 home win over Texas A&M-Kingsville last Saturday.

Chavlovich reportedly suffered a pulled muscle in his back in a 84-78 loss at Midwestern State on January 5, and played 52 minutes in a four-overtime 100-98 victory at Cameron on January 7. He scored 23 points in a 104-96 shootout win over Angelo State in Canyon last Thursday before resting Saturday.

Reisman, who’s teams for years have been known for their rugged defenses, also points to many more WT scoring threats than Chavlovich, one of 100 players named to the watch list for the Bevo Francis Award for best “small college” player in the nation.

Teams selling out to slow Chavlovich can also be burned by any one of six other players averaging more than eight points. The supporting cast is led by guard Jordan Evans at 13.8, and forward Carl White at 10.1.

“Everyone knows about Chavlovich and knows that slowing him down is a big key against them, but that doesn’t mean he’s the only one you have to stop,” Reisman said. “They have a lot of players who can score the basketball.”

But Brown and the Buffs have multiple Tarleton offensive threats to be concerned with, too.

It begins with LSC Offensive Player of the Week Ridell Camidge, a junior guard who shoots 92.2 percent from the foul stripe and poured in 22 points twice last week while going 16-30 from the floor including 10-19 from 3.

Camidge, who averages 16.7 points, and senior center Romond Jenkins join Chavlovich on the Francis watch list. Jenkins has nine double-doubles and averages 12.2 points and 11.4 boards. He’s on track to be the first Texan to average a double-double since current Australian pro star Eric Williams in 2008-09.

Guards Chantz Chambers and Deshawn Riddick also average double figures at 11.6 and 10.5, respectively, while redshirt freshman forwards Anthony Davis and Josh Hawley score 9.9 and 9.6.

“They have great players, we have great players. If you look at the standings in the Lone Star Conference, we’re right there together at the top, and that won’t change much Thursday one way or the other, but it certainly is a big advantage for the winner in the head-to-head,” said Reisman. “It’s a game everyone in our conference and this region will be looking for the result of. It’s a big game in this area of the country.”

One he looks forward to Tarleton fans packing into Wisdom Gym to witness first-hand.

“These are our first conference games of the spring semester, and we look forward to having our students back and showing the passion and love for our basketball program that they have showed for a long time here,” Reisman said. “I think it will be a great crowd and a great atmosphere and it should really be a great game between two outstanding teams.”