WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Ninth-ranked Tarleton State and No. 15 Arkansas Tech squared off on Sunday evening for the first time ever, with the Wonder Boys escaping with a 64-63 win in overtime and advancing to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional final.
The Wonder Boys reached a regional final for the first time in school history with the win after losing in the regional semi-finals in overtime two of the last three years.
The game was tight between the two-seed Texans and the third-seeded Wonder Boys through the first half. Tarleton State, Division II's stingiest defense, made life on the perimeter tough for the prolific three shooters of Tech, holding them to two of five shooting from beyond the arc.
Arkansas Tech found some success with five steals early and led by as many as eight points in the first 12 minutes of the game.
Senior Mykel Cleveland accounted for three of the steals despite coming out of the game momentarily early in the contest after running into a hard screen by Tarleton State's Wes Dipprey.
Tarleton State then went on 12-1 run over a 5:22 time span to take a three point lead before Wonder Boys' senior center Will Paul's trifecta knotted the game at 18-18 with 3:13 left in the half, igniting a 9-0 run for Tech.
Texans' center Fabian Wilson, a Lone Star Conference first-team selection, broke the dry spell with a buzzer beating put-back layup to cut the Wonder Boys lead to 24-20 at the intermission.
Paul led Tech with 10 points in the first half, while Wilson paced Tarleton State with seven.
Both teams traded baskets to open the second half until senior Shedrick Haynes trey capped off a 7-0 run by the Texans to tie the game at 29 with 16:50 left.
Davis scored seven of the next 10 points for the Wonder Boys, making it a six-point game at 39-33.
Wilson picked up his third foul on a drive by Paul at the 12:57 mark, sending him to the Texans' bench. He didn't sit on the bench long, coming back in and putting in a layup with 8:13 remaining, completing a three-point play after a foul by freshman Nick Wayman, pulling Tarleton within two at 43-41.
Paul picked up his fourth foul of the game with 5:58 left on a drive by the Texans' Brian Word, who connected on one of two from the line to make it a two point game at 46-44.
Tarleton State was able to keep the game close and in the game's final minute was when it got real interesting.
After a layup by the Texans' Harrell cut the lead to 56-54, Tarleton stole the ball back, but Harrell was called for a player control foul as he drove into the lane.
On the ensuing inbounds play, the Wonder Boys' Williamson lost control of the ball, giving the Texans the ball with seven seconds left. Haynes then drove the right baseline, putting up a five-footer to tie the game at 56 with three seconds left.
Senior Matt Haney's three-pointer at the buzzer to try and win the game for Arkansas Tech in regulation was off the mark, forcing overtime.
In overtime, Tech attacked the basket for layups by Davis, Paul and Cleveland, while Tarleton worked the perimeter with a trey from Haynes, his fourth of the game, to make the game 62-59.
After a put back basket by the Texans' Fabian Wilson, Cleveland knocked down both free throws after being fouled to put Tech up 64-61 with 12 seconds left.
Haynes was fouled quickly by the Tech defense, putting him on the line, where he made both shots to cut the margin to one at 64-63.
On the inbounds, Tech's Davis was fouled, sending him to the charity stripe, where he missed both shots. Tarleton State's final three-point shot was long, sealing the win for the Wonder Boys.
The Texans were led by Shedrick Haynes game-high 22 points, including four of six from three point distance. Chris Harrell added 14 and Fabian Wilson 13 points and 16 rebounds for Tarleton State.
The Wonder Boys Will Paul had 19 points in the win, while Davis pitched in 15 points and Williamson 11.
Arkansas Tech improved to 26-6 overall as they advance to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional final on Tuesday night against the winner of Washburn – Midwestern State.
Tarleton State closes their season at 27-6. |
TSU coach Lonn Reisman
Opening Statement
"First of all I would like to give God all the glory for an outstanding season these young men have had and we are very grateful. We have six great seniors that have come up through our program and done great job this year and twenty seven wins this season and just battled very hard tonight. That was two outstanding basketball teams that were playing and it came down to one shot. Its not the shot, I don't mean by saying it was why we lost because we had a lot good looks tonight. We had some good opportunities and we had some good looks at the basket that just didn't fall. We kept fighting and fighting and kept ourselves in the ball game. We even put ourselves in the position to win it in the last six seconds and it just didn't happen."
On about the great come back
"We knew that they are never going to give in. They are going to play hard and they did. We got into our press and got a couple of turnovers and converted a play that we drew up and they are going to give you their best every night and we have been in this position before this year. We went out there and executed what we needed to get back in the game in the last three minutes."
TSU Fabian Wilson
On defending Will Paul
"It was a big difference because not only can he post up but he can step out and shoot the ball too. He can step out behind the three point line and shoot the ball. So it is difficult when you play him for one thing but he can do another thing. He is a full player. He can do it all. So it is tough."
TSU Chris Harrell
On senior season
"I think we had a great season and we had a lot of good wins, great team, and great team chemistry and everything, good coaching. Just enjoyed my three years being here at Tarleton and all the wins and experiences I have had. The coaches have helped us become better men and players on and off the court. This experience I won't forget."
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ATU coach Doug Karleskint
Opening Statement
"First of all I would like to congratulate Tarleton state and Coach
Reisman on a great year. Going in we knew we were facing Tarleton
State and they are a traditional power and our guys rose to the
occasion. I thought we set the tone defensively and really came out
and defended them and really played tough. We really battled on the
boards and made some big plays. We got some good play from Jared and
Johnny. Whoever we put in the game I thought we got some good plays.
We didn't finish great down the stretch, obviously. Tarleton made some
big plays to force overtime but we were able to finish it out and get
some key baskets in overtime and were lucky enough to win."
"Last week in the first round of our conference tournament, Southern
Arkansas kind of did the same thing to us. They wanted to slow the
game down. We ended up winning by a point. I think in the post game I
said we might be looking at this game here next week and the next
couple weeks where this might benefit us and I think it really did
tonight when we played in a slowed down game where it's possession by
possession. We really executed down the stretch I thought and made
some good plays. I think that game really helped us out."
ATU Will Paul
On going against Fabian Wilson
"Early on I was just open and I don't get a lot of open shots like
that so when I do and I start hitting I do find a little rhythm. When
shots start falling it feels good and the game comes to you really
easily. Playing against Wilson, he is a big body and he can play. He's
tough to guard down low. I think we did a good job of denying his
entry passes and not letting him get easy touches in the post. I think
that made him work a lot harder for baskets."
ATU Jared Williamson
On the overtime performance
"We just had confidence. These past couple weeks through the GAC
tournament, leading up to that conference we just had a confidence. We
believe we can beat anybody in the country if we come to play our
game. If we just do what we do it will be a good game. We had to come
together at the end. We had a lot of highs and lows, that's what coach
taught us about. He'll tell us that we have to stay together."
Doug Karleskint on Tarleton's defensive strategy
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