Box Score The Chicago State men's basketball team lost to Tarleton State 57-54 Saturday night at Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas. The Cougars overcame an 11-point first-half deficit and a pair of Texans 5-0 second-half runs to come all the way back to lead by two in the final minute before Tarleton tied and regained the lead from the free throw line and eventual three-point win.
Tonight's game was the first-ever matchup between the Cougars and Texans and, with the loss, CSU falls to 6-17 overall and 2-8 in the conference while the Texans improve to 11-13 overall and 6-5 in the WAC.
Brandon Betson led all scorers with 16 points while
Kedrick Green added 14 off the bench with a season-high three three-point field goals. The Cougars had a 40-35 advantage on the boards, including 14-10 on the offensive end.
Coreyoun Rushin led all players with 15 rebounds.
Chicago State jumped out to an early lead on a three by Betson and a put-back layup by Rushin for an early 5-0 advantage. Tarleton State responded with a 5-0 run of their own to knot the game 5-5 at the 14:47 mark. Teddy Bayi Ba Mendeng made a pair of free throws before the Texans made layups on back-to-back possessions plus a free throw for their first lead of the game, 10-7, with 12:58 remaining. Betson then converted his second three to tie the score 10-10 before the Cougars went cold from the field, converting only 1-of-9 field goals and the Texans took advantage with a 10-2 run and a 20-12 lead with 8:27 until the half.
Kedrick Green made a layup to stop the run before another extended Tarleton scoring streak, this time 7-2, and the Texans had their largest lead of the game, 11 points, with 3:32 left until the end of the half. At that point, Betson made a pair of free throws and the Texans failed to score for the remainder of the half, going 0-for-9 over the final 3:32 and the Cougars erased the 11-point deficit with an 11-0 run of their own to end the half and the score was tied 27-27. Chicago State only made 4-of-17 three pointers and 8-of-26 overall but won the battle of the boards by six, including eight offensive rebounds.
Tarleton State came out of the locker room after halftime with a 5-0 run before back-to-back
Jahsean Corbett layups cut the margin to three, 34-31, with 17:08 remaining. Following a Tarleton three,
Dominique Alexander scored his first points of the game at the Texans lead was four, 37-33. Chicago State went on a three-minute scoring drought and the Texans took advantage with a 5-0 run to push the lead to nine, 42-33, at the 11:53 mark.
Green made a three for the Cougars and the Texans answered with one of their own before Chicago State went on a 12-4 run cut the lead to one, 49-48, at the 4:28 mark. Following a Texans layup, Green made a free throw and Betson two plus a jumper and Chicago State had their first lead of the second half, 53-51, with 1:15 remaining to play. Tarleton tied the game from the line and took a one-point lead before Betson drove to the basket and missed a layup with contact and a foul by Rushin put the Texans at the line. The Texans converted two free throws for a three-point lead with 10 seconds remaining and held on for the three-point win, 57-54
Next up, the Cougars will host a pair of games next week. Chicago State will welcome Stephen F. Austin to the Jones Convocation Center on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. then Sam Houston State will square off with CSU on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. at the Jacoby Dickens Center in the Old Skool game.
About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title, also making an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach
Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year.
Follow the Cougars
For complete coverage of Chicago State University athletics, follow us on social media @ChiStateCougars (Twitter), @ChiStateCougars (Instagram), /ChiStateCougars (Facebook), or visit the official home of Chicago State athletics at GoCSUCougars.com.
