Men's Basketball Ousted by #7 Tarleton State

(02/29/12)


ALLEN, TEXAS – In the opening round of play in the Lone Star Conference Tournament the Texas A&M-Kingsville men’s basketball team fell to the number two seed Tarleton State, 67-55 at the Allen Events Center.

Despite having five players with two fouls in the first period, the Javelinas (12-16) managed to establish a 28-25 lead at the half thanks to a Marcus Ford (Colorado Springs/Lamar CC) three-pointer in the final seconds. Through 20 minutes the Javelinas held the Texans to 33 percent shooting from the field and no three-pointers while forcing nine turnovers.

In the second half, the #7 Texans (25-4) came alive. They opened up the second period with an 8-1 run that helped them retake the lead for the first time since early on in the ballgame. After that they never looked back, getting big efforts in the final 20 minutes from Chris Harrell and Brian Word. Word and Harrell combined to score just four points in the first half, but finished with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Midway through the half the Javelinas managed to cut it their lead to three, but could not get any closer.

Wes Dipprey led Texans offensively with 18 points and seven rebounds while first-team all-conference selection Fabian Wilson paced them with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Texans shot 44.6 percent from the field, made 5-of-14 from three-point range and were 12-of-19 at the charity stripe.

As the Texans got hot, the Javelinas went cold. They scored just 27 points in the final period compared to 42 by the Texans.

The Javelinas were led by the 13 points of Ryan Layssard (Opelousas/Baton Rouge CC) and Robert Williams’ (Dallas/Frank Phillips) 11 points. The game served as the final in the careers of Williams and Ford. The team shot 39.6 percent from the field, made 9-of-19 from three-point range and were 8-for-12 at the foul line. Ashton Brown (Randolph, NY/Central HS) added eight points and five assists off the bench.

On the game the Javelinas were outrebounded 43-21.

Tarleton State moves on to play West Texas A&M on Friday night in the semifinals of the LSC Tournament.
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