Tarleton State Scores 18 Straight to Defeat Lions, 68-55

Tarleton State scored the final four points of the first half and the first 14 of the second half en route to a 68-55 win over host Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday afternoon.

With the game tied for the fifth time, 25-25 with 2:02 left in the first half, the Texans' Devon Hills scored 11 of his game-high 24 points as Tarleton State extended its lead to as much as 18.

A&M-Commerce (11-4) sophomore Brad Hambrick had a team-high 13 points and seven rebounds in the loss. He was joined in double digits by junior Brian Singleton, who added 11.

Tarleton State (12-2) extended its winning streak to seven and snapped a two-game series losing skid in the process. In addition to the 24 from Hills, who was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line, the Texans' Corin Henry and Effran Bryan scored 15 and 11 points, respectively.

Following the third tie of thee opening half at 18, each team rattled off five-straight points before Henry made two free throws and Ronnie Morgan tied it for the Lions and for the fifth time in the contest.

Tarleton State started the second half with a four-point lead, 29-25 and extended its lead to 18 with 12-straight to start the second 20 minutes. The lead remained double digits until the 9:50 mark when Preston Whitley made a layup to trim the deficit to nine, 48-39.

The layup sparked the Lions as they scored the next seven points to get within two, 48-46 with 8:03 left in the game. However, A&M-Commerce would not get any closer and Tarleton would answer the threat with a game-deciding 13-3 spurt en route to the win. The Texans' would make eight of nine free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Next on the schedule for the Lions is the start of Lone Star Conference North Division play as A&M-Commerce will travel to Weatherford, Oklahoma on Wednesday to face Southwestern Oklahoma State at 8 p.m.