ARLINGTON — Tarleton State Men’s Basketball opened WAC play with a crucial road win at the College Park Center, 69-63 at UT Arlington on Monday night.
The Texans (10-4 overall, 1-0 WAC) notched their fifth win in WAC openers since joining the league in 2020. The Mavericks (8-5, 0-1) fall for the second time in three WAC openers to the Purple and White.
Head coach Billy Gillispie was not on the bench for the Texans as he was under the weather. Associate head coach, Glynn Cyprien filled in for coach Gillispie.
“What a great way to start conference play,” said coach Gillispie. “Our guys really played hard and made a bunch of winning plays. This year looks like we have the best conference top to bottom that the WAC has had in many, many years. Great to start off with a road win. It only gets tougher from here starting Thursday and Saturday with two very difficult home games. These next two teams are considered to be the best in the WAC. We need everyone in our city and vicinity to come out and help us win!”
Cam McDowell led the Texans in scoring with 23 points, one of two to score in double figures. McDowell shot eight-for-16 from the floor and three-of-six from beyond the arc. He also added four rebounds and three assists. Freddy Hicks was the only other Texan to score in double figures putting up 10 points and adding a game-best four steals.
Sophomore DJ Dormu returned to the Texan lineup for the first time since the season opener against SMU. Dormu led the team with four assists and also tallied six points and two boards. His clutch basket with 36 seconds left gave the Texans the momentum to secure the victory.
Chris Mpaka started the Texans on the right foot improving his record to 6-0 on the tip off in road games. Kaia Isaac tickled the twine first for the Purple and White with a jumper in the first minute of the game. The scoring barrage continued with layups from Leroy Kelly IV and Jordan Mizell and a bucket from Mpaka to give the Texans a 8-1 lead in the first four minutes of the contest.
McDowell earned his first points of a 13-point first half with a jumper with 12:28 to go. The Texans sparked an 8-0 run shortly after beginning from a tip-in layup from Hicks. McDowell capped the burst with his first of a pair of first half three pointers. A few minutes later, McDowell knocked down seven-straight Texan points to put the Purple and White ahead by 16, 30-14, with 6:22 to go. Dormu followed up with a layup in the paint to put the Texans ahead 18, 32-14, their largest lead of the game with 5:51 remaining in the half.
UT Arlington responded in the final five minutes executing a 10-0 run across three minutes of action to bring their deficit within eight, 32-24. In the final minute of the half, the Mavericks scored six-consecutive points to bring themselves within five, 35-30 at the break.
The Mavericks started off the second half with four-straight points to bring the Texan lead down to one, 35-34 just one minute into the half. UT Arlington tied the game three times in the second half. The Mavs tied the game at 37 on a three-pointer with 17:25 to go in the game. The Mavericks took their first lead of the game, 40-39 at the 16:26 mark.
Mpaka knocked down back-to-back buckets to give the Texans a 43-40 advantage once again. The two teams swapped points over the next several minutes with the game staying within a few points. UTA tied the game once again at 46, but McDowell broke the tie with his third triple of the night. The Mavs weren’t done yet, using a 5-0 run to take the lead for the second and final time, 51-50 with 8:56 to go in the contest.
A 6-0 run from Tarleton State gave the Texans a five-point advantage with four coming from McDowell. With 6:38 to go, and the Texans leading by two, Kade Douglas knocked down a critical three-pointer to put the Texans ahead by five. Douglas sparked an 8-0 Texan run to give the Texans a 10-point advantage, 64-54, with just over four minutes to play.
In the final four minutes, the Mavericks ran off a 9-0 run to close their deficit to just one, 64-63 with 1:29 remaining in the game. In a clutch possession with 36 ticks left, Dormu left his feet for a mid-range jumper to put the Texans ahead by three, 67-64. After a missed UTA layup and Dormu defensive board, he was sent to the line to seal the game. The Purple and White knocked down three free throws in the final 20 seconds to cap the 69-63 victory in their first WAC game of the year.
The Texans improved to 44-3 in their Division I era when shooting above 50 percent from the floor. Tarleton State made 26 of their 52 shots from the field. The Purple and White struggled from the free throw line, shooting 46.4 percent, 13-for-28. The Texans won the turnover battle, 18-7. UTA won the battle on the glass, 38-27. The nation’s leader in bench points per game averaging over 44 points per game, added 40 points from the bench in the winning effort.
Tarleton State will return home for their first WAC home game on New Year’s Day against Utah Valley at 7 p.m. The Texans will host three consecutive WAC games followed by California Baptist (Jan. 3) and Abilene Christian (Jan. 8).
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