Tarleton teams make tough trek to Cameron

STEPHENVILLE (January 26, 2017) — Tarleton State’s Lone Star Conference-leading men’s team and surging women’s squad face the seemingly always tough trek to Cameron Thursday with plenty on the line in both league standings.

Tipoff is 5:30 p.m. for the TexAnns and 7:30 for the No. 14 Texans at Aggie Gym in Lawton, Okla., and both games can be heard on the Tarleton Sports Network – 90.5 FM on the radio dial or online at TarletonSports.com.

On the line:

TexAnns – Tarleton (8-8, 7-3) is tied alongside Texas A&M-Commerce for third in the LSC, 1.5 games behind second-place Angelo State and one game ahead of West Texas A&M. Cameron (6-10, 4-6) is trudging along right in the middle of the conference race, and is in need of a win against the TexAnns.

Texans – Tarleton (16-3, 7-2) leads the LSC, but just by one game with four teams, including Cameron (13-6, 6-3) just one game back. The others in that pack include West Texas A&M, UT-Permian Basin and Texas A&M-Commerce:

Series, recent meetings:

TexAnns – On December 3, Tarleton overcame a 70-56 deficit with a 25-11 fourth-quarter surge to force overtime where the TexAnns outlasted the Lady Aggies, 90-89, winning their second straight second straight in the series after six straight losses to CU. Mackenzie Hailey scored 23 points and corralled 13 boards in the comeback. Tarleton last traveled to Lawton on January 2 of last year and won, 83-71, after losing its three prior trips to Aggie Gym. The all-time series between the women’s teams is even, 15-15.

Texans – Tarleton turned back Cameron, 73-60, on Dec. 3 in Stephenville behind 15 first half points and 17 total com Ridell Camidge and 16 points, all in the second half, by Josh Hawley. Camidge shot Tarleton back into the game after trailing 15-3 early on. The Texans were shut down at Aggie Gym last year, 73-57. Tarleton leads the series 27-12 including 26-8 under 29th year head coach Lonn Reisman.

About the teams:

TexAnns – Mackenzie Hailey has nine double-doubles and had four straight until playing limited minutes in a 67-44 blowout of UT-Permian Basin last Saturday in Stephenville. Hailey averages 15.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game on the season, while Bailey Wipff scores 12.4 and Ikpeaku Iwobi nets 10.5 to go with 7.1 boards. Tarleton scores 64.7 points per game and allows 63.4 while shooting 40 percent and allowing opponents to hit 41 percent.

Lady Aggies – Cameron scores 79 per game and is allowing 76 with shooting percentages almost mirroring those of Tarleton – 40 percent for the Lady Aggies and 42 percent for their opponents. They are led by Savanna James with 16.5 points and eight rebounds per game, but balance is the real story with Jamie Bonnarens scoring 12.5, Charron Montgomery 11.6 and Natalie Halbleib 10.4.

Texans – Ridell Camidge leads Tarleton at 15.8 points per game, followed by Chantz Chambers and Romond Jenkins at 12.1 each. Jenkins also averages 10.8 boards and is trying to become the first Texan to average a double-double – he’s had 10 of them this season – since 2008-09. Deshawn Riddick scores 10.7, Josh Hawley 9.9 and Anthony Davis 9.3. Tarleton is coming off a rare loss, having been upset by UT-Permian Basin, 74-62, last Saturday in Stephenville. The Texans are still scoring more than 81 points per game and hold a league-leading score margin of 17.2.

Aggies – After three straight wins, Cameron is very much a contender for the LSC title. For the year, the Aggies are outscoring opponents by more than five points per game and are led by Tyler Williams at 12.3 points. They are as balanced as their women’s team, with Tyus Momoh scoring 11.6, JV Long 11.2 and Delvonte Pierre 10.1.