Ramsey pours in 35 in Tarleton debut

STEPHENVILLE (November 10, 2017) – During the offseason, associate head coach Chris Reisman was quoted saying: “One guy people are going to notice right away is Corinthian Ramsey at the point guard. He brings a level of quickness and athleticism that we haven’t had in while.”

In his first game with the Texans, fans noticed Ramsey right away with a performance that those in Wisdom Gym will remember for quite some time. Ramsey poured in 35 points to lift Tarleton to a season-opening 89-78 come-from-behind victory over Metro State on Friday in Wisdom Gym for the F&M Bank Tip-Off Classic.

The junior guard shot 10-of-20 from the floor, including 7-of-12 on 3-pointers and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. Ramsey’s 35 points rank eighth all-time in a single game in school history.

“The kids didn’t quit and we stayed aggressive offensively,” said head coach Lonn Reisman. “I felt we finally shut them down with a smaller line up. I couldn’t be happier to see the kids win a game against a team of Metro State’s caliber.”

The Texans had to deal with Metro State’s sharp-shooting guards, as the Roadrunners drilled 14 3-pointers in the game, including 10 in the first half alone.

But the Texans battled all game with the Roadrunners, thanks to Ramsey’s 23 first-half points. Metro State built a 27-19 lead with 9:09 left in the opening half behind a 9-0 run. But Ramsey answered back with back-to-back 3-point buckets to cut the lead to 27-25.

Metro State had a 35-30 advantage with 5:37 left in the half when Ramsey caught fire from all spots on the floor, scoring the final 11 points of the half for the Texans. In the final seconds of the half and trailing by three, Ramsey got his own rebound and drilled a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game up at 41-41 at the break.

The teams were tied at 53-53 through the first eight minutes of the second half before the Roadrunners went on a 14-0 run over the next two minutes to build the largest lead of the game at 67-53 with 10 minutes to go.

After cutting the lead to 70-62, the Texans went on a run that the Roadrunners couldn’t contain. Jesse Hill connected on a mid-range jumper to make it 70-64 and then Josh Hawley got the crowd on its feet with seven straight points, including two straight dunks to give the Texans a 71-70 lead. Hawley finished with a career-high 21 points and six rebounds while Hill added 17 points in his first game with Tarleton.

Tarleton led 73-72 with four minutes left and then went on a 6-0 run to stretch the lead to 79-72 before sealing the game defensively and at the free-throw line in the final minute.

Nosa Ebomwonyi is one of two seniors on the Texans roster, and although he didn’t light up the stat sheet offensively, his leadership and lock-down defense in the second half put the Texans in position to win. Ebomwonyi pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, including eight in the second half, and held Metro State to no 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes of the game. Metro State shot 31 percent in the second half compared to 46 in the first half.

Senior guard Deshawn Riddick added eight points, while Jaraan Lands had five points, Ebomwonyi had two and Clashon Gaffney had one to round out the Texan scoring efforts.

Tarleton will take on Colorado-Colorado Springs on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. in the final game of the F&M Bank Tip-Off Classic.