Box Score (PDF)

THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – An eight-plus minute scoring drought for Midwestern State resulted in a come-from-behind victory for No. 14 Tarleton State Saturday afternoon as the Texans erased an eight-point second half deficit to come away with a 77-72 victory inside D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
 
After Pat Smith buried a triple with 14:57 remaining to give Midwestern State (13-7, 6-5 LSC) a 49-41 lead, the Mustangs missed their next seven shots while going 0-of-5 from the charity stripe during an 8:03 scoring drought to help Tarleton State (18-3, 9-2 LSC) take a 55-49 advantage with 7:07 to play.
 
A dunk by Brandon Neel with 6:54 left snapped the MSU drought before another Smith three-pointer pulled the Mustangs to within three at 57-54 with 5:41 remaining. Smith scored six of the next eight points for MSU with a three-point play bringing the Maroon and Gold to within one at 63-62 with two minutes to play.
 
However, the Texans answered on the other end with a three-point play from Anthony Davis and a fastbreak dunk for Romond Jenkins to give Tarleton a 68-62 lead with 1:17 remaining.
 
Midwestern State missed three of its next four shots from the floor as the Texans built an eight-point lead with less than a minute remaining. B.J. Jenkins knocked down his seventh and eighth three-pointers of the afternoon to bring MSU to within a possession at 75-72 but Deshawn Riddick hit both of his free throws with 10 seconds left to seal the win for Tarleton State.
 
The Mustangs recorded their largest lead of the game just 5:45 into the contest with Smith scoring seven of MSU's first 13 points for a 13-4 lead. A pair of triples for Brandon Willis helped the Texans slowly creep back into the game over the next several minutes before a Chantz Chambers three evened the game at 18-all with 9:19 to play in the first.
 
Midwestern responded with a 9-2 run over the next 2:29 to build a seven-point edge at the break, 38-31.
 
NOTES
- B.J. Jenkins posted a career-high 28 points with eight three-pointers to tie for the third most triples in a single game in program history
- Pat Smith added 18 points and four assists for the Mustangs while Brandon Neel hit double figures for the 14th-straight game with 12 points and four assists
- Igor Ibaka led MSU with 10 rebounds while Shawn Nottingham dished out a team-best five assists
- Midwestern State shot 45 percent (27-of-60) while firing 40 percent (12-of-30) from three-point range, recording the second-most three-pointers in a game this season (15 vs. Adams State)
- Tarleton State finished 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the field while going just 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from behind the arc
- The Mustangs shot a season-low 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from the free-throw line while the Texans were 72 percent (18-of-25) from the line
- Romond Jenkins led Tarleton with 21 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks while Chantz Chambers (16) and Ridell Camidge (11) also reached double figures

STAT OF THE GAME
8 – B.J. Jenkins' eight three-pointers tied for the third most in a single game in school history

UP NEXT 
Midwestern State begins a four-game road swing Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. matchup against Texas A&M-Kingsville at the Steinke Center in Kingsville.