LSC Roundup 2/9

Bryant, Texans upset South rival Midwestern
There's still a long way to go, but Tarleton State took a big first step towards righting its previously sinking ship in the Lone Star Conference South Division standings on Saturday.

Tarleton picked up a season-high 17 from junior guard Effran Bryant, who hit five 3-point bombs, and edged South co-leader Midwestern State, 66-62, in front of 2,268 at Wisdom Gym. Tarleton is now 14-8 on the season and 2-5 in the South, while Midwestern, which entered the contest ranked No. 8 in the South Central Region, fell to 16-6 and 5-2, respectively.

Mustangs lose physical battle
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — The road games don’t get any tougher in the Lone Star Conference South Division than it was Saturday night at Wisdom Gym.

With every possession at a premium, Michael Godwin canned a 3-pointer from the left wing with 4:37 to go.

It would have given the Mustangs momentum and a one-point lead, but it didn’t count as Anthony Moore was whistled for a 3-second violation on an immediate feed off of a drive into the lane just as Godwin’s shot hit the bottom of the net.

“It’s so physical. From the first possession, they are grabbing and pushing,” MSU coach Jeff Ray said. “It just gets hard to score. I say this all the time, but that’s just not basketball. The little things just add up when it’s like that.”

Midwestern State junior guard Craig Green, who was averaging 15.3 points a game during South Division play, finished with just two points on 1-of-6 shooting.

“He got frustrated early getting bumped and then was called for a charge and that took his confidence,” Ray said. “We try to simulate the physical play in practice, but I guess just can’t get close enough to it. We just missed too many shots tonight.”

MSU women unable to overcome early deficit
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Midwestern State has made it a habit of almost digging itself out of deep holes on the road this season.

Saturday night was no different as Tarleton State built up a big first-half lead before staving off the Mustangs 75-63 in a Lone Star Conference South Division contest at Wisdom Gym.

“We can’t afford to dig ourselves a hole like that and expect to win,” MSU coach Noel Johnson said. “We’ve done that all year. We just need to step up the energy level from the beginning.”

Rams basketball team fail to catch up to Javelinas' early lead
The Angelo State men's basketball team (17-5, 5-2 LSC-S) could not overcome a 26-point first-half deficit Saturday as the Rams fell at Texas A&M-Kingsville (15-7, 5-2 LSC-S), 81-78.

The Javelinas built their 26-point advantage with a 30-6 run beginning with 14:53 left in the half. The first part of the run saw TAMUK score 15 straight points to put the Javelinas up 29-14 after Nathan Walton had trimmed the TAMUK lead to 14-12 with a 10-foot jumper in the paint. The second part of the run occurred with the Rams trailing, 34-18, and gave the Javelinas their 26-point margin, 44-18, with 5:52 left before intermission. The Rams began to chip away at the lead and by the buzzer to end the half, ASU had cut the deficit to 48-36.

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Wildcats rally, win in 12th
Abilene Christian may be glad its home-opening series is over and Highlands is headed back to New Mexico.

Alex Harrison tripled in Thomas Bumpass and then scored the tying run in the ninth inning before he singled in Chris Hall in the 12th to rally the No. 11 Wildcats to a 3-2 victory over the Mustangs on Sunday at Crutcher Scott Field.

ACU (3-2) and Highlands (4-4) split the four-game series, with the Wildcats winning the final two games thanks to strong pitching.

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