STEPHENVILLE, Texas - There is never any solace in a loss. That's one thing for sure.

But, one thing is for certain, it takes a great team to come into a No. 4-ranked team in the nation's house and overcome 38 fouls to push the league leading Tarleton State Texans to the brink.

That's just what No. 10-ranked Midwestern State did Saturday night before falling 79-75 to fall to 16-2 on the season and to 9-2 in league play.

Junior forward Anthony Harris pulled the Mustangs back from a seven-point deficit as he scored seven points in an 11-3 run as MSU took a 70-67 lead with 1:50 to go.

That's when attrition finally caught up to the Mustangs as senior forward David Terrell (13 points, 5 rebounds), senior forward Darrick Thomas and senior forward Thomas Colbert fouled out after playing a combined 44 minutes to severely hamper MSU's front court rotation.

Tarleton State turned the charity into a 10-of-13 made free throws down the stretch as the Texans reclaimed the lead on Fabian Wilson's three-point play with 1:01 to play.

Harris took up the front court slack by scoring a team-high 20 points and pulling down eight rebounds in 27 minutes, while senior guard MIchael Loyd logged 17 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Senior guard Shedrick Haynes paced the Texans with a game-high 26 points and was joined in double figures by Chris Harrell (19 points) and Wilson (18 points, 8 rebounds).

Tarleton State connected on 37-of-48 charity tosses (77.1 percent) while the Mustangs went 17-of-29 (58.6 percent).

The Mustangs finished the night shooting 49.8 percent from the field and knocked eight 3-pointers.

Midwestern hits the road to take on Abilene Christian Tuesday night at Moody Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.