EDINBURG — Tarleton State Men’s Basketball outscored UTRGV 33-12 in the final nine minutes of action to secure a 77-73 come-from-behind win on Saturday evening at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
For the sixth time as a WAC program, the Texans (12-6 overall, 5-2 WAC) sweep a season series after beating the Vaqueros (6-13, 2-6), 77-75, in Wisdom Gym in December.
“I am very proud on how our guys were able to keep their heads down and battle through the deficit, said acting head coach Joseph Jones postgame. “We were able to keep ourselves in the game and when the opportunities presented themselves in the second half, we were able to make the most of it and in the end come out with the victory.”
Lue Williams played one of his best games as a Texan, posting a season-high 28 points. The Atmore, Alabama native, shot 13-for-21 from the floor setting a new Tarleton WAC record and tying Shamir Bogues for the most field goals made in a single game in the D1 era.
A trio of Texans also scored in double figures. KiAndre Gaddy and Jakorie Smith contributed 11 apiece and Devon Barnes added 10. Gaddy also posted a game-high eight rebounds. Emmanuel Innocenti dished off a game-best seven assists and notched nine points.
Trailing 61-44 with 9:42 remaining, it seemed as if the home team in WAC contests would win its 15th game of the last 16 conference game played this year. The Texans proved otherwise. Barnes and Smith heloped the Texans cut into the Vaquero lead with a 14-4 run over the next four minutes. The duo scored six points each during the run. Barnes turned two steals into four points for his squad.
With the Texans still not having a lead the entire game, the crowd was still behind the Vaqueros even when the Texans cut their deficit to five, 63-58 with 5:57 to go. UTRGV’s Daylen Williams settled at the top of the arc and buried a three to reset the UTRGV lead to eight, seeming to response that this was the home team’s game to lose. It was.
Over the next 2:23, the Vaqueros shooting drought turned fatal allowing the Texans to take their first lead of the game on a 12-0 run. Smith countered the UTRGV triple with a floater of his own, followed by heading to the line on the next possession and sinking one of his two freebies. Williams was responsible for the next two and Innocenti was sent to the line with the Texans down by three. He sank both of his shots from the charity stripe bringing TSU within a single point for the first time all game.
UTRGV missed a jumper and fouled Dario Domingos on the rebound sending him to the line with the opportunity to tie or take the lead. He missed the first but sunk the second to tie the game at 66 with 3:53 to go. Williams broke through for a layup on the next possession to give the Texans the 68-66 lead.
Trailing 70-66, UTRGV broke their scoring drought with a pair of free throws to cut it to two. The Texans gave the ball to Williams who converted a layup giving the Texans their four-point lead back and taking the air out of the Vaqueros sails. In the final minute Tarleton closed out the game connecting on five of their final six free throws to take the 77-73 victory in Edinburg.
The Vaqueros controlled the first half leading at the half, 40-26. UTRGV led the entire 20 minutes except for a 2-2 tie. The Texans were unable to find their offensive rhythm with the Vaqueros breaking out to an early 18-8 led. Later in the half, UTRGV used an 8-0 to take their largest lead of the half, 38-18. The Texans closed the half with an 8-0 run in the final three minutes, before the Vaqueros extended their lead to 14 with a bucket in the final minute.
The home team relied on the triple shooting 6-for-15 from behind the arc and forced the Texans to miss all four of their shots from deep. Williams was a bright spot for Tarleton scoring 14 points in the first 20. Gaddy grabbed seven boards to lead the squad.
The Purple and White attempted a Texan WAC record 67 shots while seeing 31 of them fall at a 46.3 percent rate. The Vaqueros took less shots but had a slightly better percentage shooting 25-for-53 from the floor (47.2 percent). UTRGV took advantage of their three-point shooters shooting 11-for-26 from deep compared to the Texans’ one-for-11 effort.
The Texans won the battle of the boards, 38-31 and the turnover battle, 15-10. Tarleton blasted in the paint outscoring UTRGV, 46-28. In a change of recent past, the Purple and White shut down opponent second chances outscoring the Vaqueros, 14-3.
Tarleton will return to Stephenville for a pair of contests next week. The Texans will host Southern Utah on Thursday at 7 p.m. and close out the week hosting Utah Tech at 4 p.m. Both matches will be held in Wisdom Gym and will be streamed on ESPN+. Thursday, early arriving fans will receive a free “States Up” foam finger. Next Saturday will be the annual “White Out” with the first-arriving fans receiving a free “White Out Wisdom” t-shirt.
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