STEPHENVILLE — Tarleton State narrowly escaped UT Arlington’s upset bid with a Lue Williams triple in the final seconds to hold on for a 78-76 victory on Thursday night in Wisdom Gym.
Three-point shooting was key for the Texans (10-4 overall, 3-0 WAC) knocking down 12 from long-range, one shy of tying the Tarleton D1 era record of 13 set on 1/20/21 against Howard Payne. Four players scored at least 15 points each for the Purple and White for the first time in Tarleton’s D1 era. The Texans handed the Mavericks (6-8, 1-2) its second WAC loss of the season on the Purple and White’s way to remaining perfect in league play.
“This is conference play,” said acting head coach Joseph Jones postgame. “It’s going to come down to one or two possessions every game. I’m glad we were on the winning side of it this time.”
Williams had the hot hand in the second half scoring 14 of his 16 total points in the final 20 minutes of the contest. The Atmore, Alabama native stopped and popped the eventual game-winning three-pointer with 24 ticks on the clock. Williams connected on a season-best four of his five attempts from beyond the arc after the break. He added a pair of steals and assists and shot a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.
Emmanuel Innocenti led the Texans with a career-high 19 points and tying a career-high with four steals. He also added six boards all on the defensive end and three assists while shooting 7-for-12 from the floor and 2-for-4 from behind the arc.
Devon Barnes posted 18 points and dished out a game-high five assists. Jakorie Smith tallied 15 points all in the first half. He left the game with a foot injury early in the second half. Traivar Jackson tallied one of the most unusual stat lines of the season with a game-best eight boards and zero points. KiAndre Gaddy found himself in foul trouble in the second half playing just under 20 total minutes and picking up his fifth and final foul with five minutes to play. Gaddy finished the night with five points and five rebounds.
The Mavericks had four players with at least 10 points including Makaih Williams who led all scorers with 24.
The Texans’ largest lead of the night came with 6:20 to go in the second half. Tarleton led 70-57 and seemed to have control in the game and just needed to coast to close out its third-straight conference victory, but the Mavericks had other plans. UTA’s Dajuan Gordon started the rally with a bucket followed by a pair of made free throws by Shemar Wilson. A Phillip Russell triple followed by three points by Gordon cut the Texans lead to three, 70-67, in just two minutes of action leaving 4:00 on the game clock.
The stage was set for another classic ending in Wisdom in which the Texans’ last WAC game hosted Smith’s shot heard ’round Stephenville, a three-point buzzer beater to give the Texans the victory. Bubu Benjamin drew a foul and connected on a pair at the line to bump Tarleton’s lead back to five. UTA responded in the next possession with a three-point play to cut the score to 72-70 with 2:21 remaining. Innocenti streaked down the floor in response to put the Texans up four at the two-minute mark.
UT Arlington converted on a lay-up after three consecutive misses and offensive rebounds to bring themselves within two. After forcing the Texans to turn the ball over, Makaih Williams drove to the basket through traffic to tie the game at 74 with just 48 ticks remaining. The Texans took the next possession down to the final seconds of the shot clock when Barnes flicked a pass out to Williams at the top of the arc where he buried a triple sending Wisdom Gym to its feet with 24 seconds remaining. UTA drew a foul with 6.01 seconds left and converted both freebies to pull within one.
The Mavericks sent Benjamin to the line where he missed the first and made the second giving the Mavericks a chance for a last second miracle with four seconds remaining. UTA drove the ball up the floor but fell just before half court where the ball jutted away as time expired, sending the Texans into jubilation as they escaped with the 78-76 victory.
Tarleton held a five-point advantage in the first half, 42-37. The Purple and White earned its 42nd win as a Division I program when leading at the break and improved its record to 8-1 this season.
The Texans shot a season-best 55.6 percent from behind the arc on 12-of-21. It’s the best single game mark by the team since the squad shot 58.3 percent last January in Wisdom Gym in a 81-62 upset victory over eventual WAC Tournament Champion, Grand Canyon. Tarleton shot 27-for-57 from the floor, a 47.4 clip. The Purple and White won the turnover battle for the tenth time this season, 16-15. UT Arlington tied the Texans on the battle of the boards, 30-30.
Tarleton will enjoy its first bye day of conference play with having this Saturday off. The Texans will hit the road next week with a pair of road games on Thursday and Saturday starting with California Baptist on Jan. 11 at 9 p.m. The Purple and White will close the weekend in Phoenix against Grand Canyon, who is receiving votes in the latest AP Poll, on Jan. 13 at 8 p.m.
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