Tarleton State Smothers Greyhounds In 30-Point Win - Lone Star Conference Skip To Main Content
Vladimir Cherry

Men's Basketball By Nick Eatman

Tarleton State Smothers Greyhounds In 30-Point Win

Hot shooting and suffocating defense is usually a lethal combination and that was no exception for Tarleton State, who rolled past Eastern New Mexico Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Lone Star Conference Championship.

      The Texans led from start to finish, dominating the Greyhounds, 80-50, for their 14th straight win to improve to 27-2. After claiming the LSC regular-season title, TSU is seeking its third straight LSC Championship and Wednesday’s game was certainly a good start. The Texans advance to Friday’s semifinal round at 8:30 p.m. to face the winner of the Texas A&M-Commerce/West Texas A&M matchup on Thursday.

      Against ENMU, the Texans shot 51.9 percent from the floor on offense, including 60.9 in the first half to build a 44-16 halftime lead. Tarleton led 18-11 over the Greyhounds midway through the first half but closed the half on a 26-5 run to end the half.

      Defensively, Tarleton limited Eastern New Mexico to 29.1 percent shooting and dominated the glass, outrebounding the Greyhounds 50-22.

      Tarleton dominated inside, outscoring ENMU 40-18 in the paint and also held a 38-12 advantage in bench points.

      Malcom Hamilton came off the bench to lead the Texans with 21 points in 22 minutes played, along with eight rebounds. First-team All-LSC selection Mo Lee scored 16 points along with seven rebounds and a career-high six assists while E.J. Reed added 10 points – all in the second half – along with a career-best four blocks. Damion Clemons just missed a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds.

      For the Greyhounds, John Gilliam scored 18 points while Michael Randle scored 14. 

      ENMU, went 0-14 in conference, ends season at 7-21

      Earlier in the day, the Texans remained No. 1 in the latest South Central Regional rankings and Wednesday’s convincing win should help Tarleton’s chances of hosting next week’s regional tournament. 


Tarleton State Press Conference: http://t.co/GFC2nsqOzc
Eastern New Mexico Press Conference: http://t.co/mnEOq27Qxg

 
Tarleton State Notes
  • Tarleton State has now won six straight opening round games in the LSC tournament and eight of its last 10 quarterfinal games… The Texans are 27-13 in LSC tournament play in 17 appearances.
  • TSU, which has won the past two conference tournaments, has now won seven straight tournament games dating back to a championship game loss to Midwestern State in 2012.
  • The Texans, who are on a 14-game winning streak, went on a 26-5 run in the final 11 minutes of the first half to take a 44-16 halftime lead and never looked back. TSU owned a 50-22 rebounding margin advantage and limited ENMU to 29.1 percent shooting.
  • EJ Reed established a new career-best with four blocked shots after previously having two blocked shots seven times
  • Damion Clemons established a new career-high with 12 rebounds and was one point shy of a double-double
  • Malcolm Hamilton finished with a team-leading 21 points which was two points away from his career-high which came against South Dakota School of Mines when he scored 23 points at Wisdom Gym
  • Tarleton State now leads the all-time series 37-8 against the Greyhounds, including seven straight… TSU was 3-0 against ENMU this season with each win being in double digits. 
  • TSU also ended ENMU’s season back in 2013 with a 72-59 quarterfinal win in Allen