STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton State Men’s Basketball started off 2025 with a statement, knocking off the projected WAC runners-up UT Arlington in Wisdom Gym on Saturday night, 77-74.
The Texans (6-10 overall, 1-0 WAC) have not lost to the Mavericks (7-8, 0-1) in the state of Texans since at least 1988.
“We did a lot of good things tonight,” said head coach Billy Gillispie. “We wanted to make sure we attacked them in transition and we did that, and that’s how we led early on. It was an awesome win. We made plays when we needed to and that’s what you like to see.”
Bubu Benjamin posted his sixth 20-plus point effort on the season with 21 points. The sophomore nailed three triples from deep at a 50 percent clip. He also shot 50 percent from the floor, 8-for-16. Benjamin also added a team-best two blocks and four assists.
Dantwan Grimes notched a career-high 18 points with 14 in the second half. Grimes shattered his previous high of nine points during his time at Baylor. The junior transfer scored in double-digits for his first time as a Texan. He shot a perfect four-for-four from the charity stripe and buried a pair of triples in the waning minutes of the first half.
Chris Mpaka was the third Texan to score in double-figures posting 10 points and five boards. Jordan Mizell tallied a game-high five steals, including a final swipe to thwart the last second chance at the buzzer for the Mavs.
Tied at 60, the final seven minutes decided the contest. UT Arlington broke out on a 9-2 run to take a 69-62 lead with four minutes to play, seemingly dwindling the Texans’ chances of victory. But Tarleton was not done yet. Grimes cut the deficit to four with his second triple of the night.
With 3:22 left, the Mavs led 71-65, but that changed quickly. First, Benjamin knocked down his third three-pointer to cut the UTA advantage to three. On the very next Texan possession, Mpaka drove the lane drawing a foul while slamming it home to bring the Texans within one. He executed the three-point play by making his free throw to tie the game at 71 with 1:59 remaining.
With just over a minute to go after a UT Arlington turnover, Grimes drove into the paint and laid it in to put the Texans ahead for the first time since the 13:58 mark in the second half. After using a timeout to set up a play, the Mavericks were unsuccessful on their next possession and the Texans wound up with the board with a six second difference in the shot clock.
Grimes again drove into the lane and drew the foul with 12 ticks to go. He made a pair at the line to give the Texans a four-point led. But the Mavericks weren’t giving up easily hitting a triple with eight seconds left to trail by just a point. Grimes was fouled and made both of his shots with 3.6 seconds to go, Tarleton leading 77-74. UTA send the ball down the floor, but Mizell swiped it at half court to seal the WAC-opening victory for the Purple and White.
The Mavericks started the game off hot with an 8-0 run in the first two minutes of the contest. Tarleton responded with a 7-0 run to cut its deficit to one, 8-7. Mpaka started the scoring with a bully bucket down low, followed by an Izzy Miles triple as the shot clocked expired. Grimes brought the crew within one on a lay-up of his own.
Tarleton battled back and forth before tying and taking the lead for the first time off an 8-0 run. Benjamin sparked the scoring effort with his first three-pointer of the night. The Texans tied it after Miles made a free throw and Mizell made a jumper to tie the game at 18. Benjamin gave the Purple and White their first lead of the contest after a jumper with 8:28 to go in the first half.
UT Arlington answered with a bucket of their own to tie it for the final time in the first half at 22 with seven minutes remaining. Mizell gave the Texans the lead back with an and-one layup through traffic. He made the free throw to complete the three-point play and give the Texans the lead, 25-22.
The Purple and White carried the lead for the final six minutes of the half. Tarleton’s lead never dropped below three, with the biggest lead of the half coming in the final seconds. Grimes stripped the Maverick point guard of the ball and finished it at the other end to put the Texans up six, 38-32 at the break.
Benjamin was responsible for five of the first six Texan second half points, to enlarge the Texan lead to nine, 44-35 just under three minutes into the second half. UT Arlington sank three consecutive threes on their first three baskets of the half, followed by a jumper to cut its deficit to three.
Trailing 48-44, UT Arlington took back the lead for the first time in the second half. Darius Burford and Lance Ware combined for a 7-0 run in 1:41 of play to give the Mavericks a 51-48 advantage. The two teams swapped baskets back and forth, but the Mavericks held the lead until Grimes buried a triple in front of his bench to tie the game at 60 with seven minutes to play.
Grimes and Benjamin combined for 30 of the Texans 39 second half points.
Tarleton won the turnover battle for the seventh time this season resulting in their fourth victory. The Texans forced 24 turnovers while committing 14. The Texans shot 80.8 percent from the charity stripe, 21-for-26. The Purple and White shot 48.1 percent from the floor, 25-for-52.
Tarleton State will hit the road for a pair of games next week in Utah. The Texans will start the week on Thursday night at Southern Utah at the America First Center at 7:30 p.m. CT. The Purple and White will close the weekend against Utah Tech on Saturday at 8 p.m. CT at Burns Arena.
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