Tarleton Men's Basketball drops season opener at SMU

DALLAS – Tarleton State men's basketball opened its 2024-25 season with the first of six Power Four conference games with a 96-62 loss at SMU at Moody Coliseum on Monday night.

On opening night of college basketball, the Texans (0-1) failed to pull off one of the upsets as they lost to the ACC's Mustangs (1-0). The Purple and White suffered their first loss at Texas State in a regular season game since Saturday, February 22nd at former WAC member UTRGV.

“We didn’t protect them, we turned everything around and didn’t play together,” said head coach Billy Gillispie. “Our deal is to play smart, play hard, play together… we didn't do that tonight.”

Bubu Benjamin scored a career-high 21 points. Benjamin shot just three times from the floor, one of which was a three-pointer. The sophomore went 14-for-16, a career-best performance from the charity stripe. The Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, native added four boards and a team-high three assists.

Matt Krass scored 10 points off the bench. Matt was the second freshman or freshman to score double figures off the bench Izzy Miles And Devon Barnes from a season ago.

Nick Krass The first goal for the Texans came with a three-pointer after an offensive rebound from Benjamin. Tarleton opened with a 5-0 lead Jordan Mizell Layup after a Mustangs turnover that gave the Texans the lead in the first two minutes of the contest.

SMU responded with a 10-0 run over the next 2:21. Benjamin hit his first triple of the game, bringing the Texans within a pair at 10-8. SMU then went on a 22-0 run and pulled away from the purple and white. The Mustangs capped their run with three three-pointers and took a 32-8 lead midway through the first half.

The Texans traded baskets in the final 10 minutes of the half and trailed 51-28 at halftime. SMU shot 59 percent from the floor and 50 percent from deep in the first half. Both teams were impeccable at the free throw line, with the Mustangs shooting a perfect 11-for-11 and the Texans shooting 93 percent and 13-for-14.

The Texans were unable to turn things around in the second half. The Mustangs outscored the purple and white 45-34. Tarleton outscored the Mustangs in deep shooting by 50 percent. The Texans even had 18 points on the boards in the second session.

Matt Krass was a bright spot for the Texans in the second 20 minutes. The freshman scored 10 points by shooting four for seven from the floor. The Gulfport, Miss., native shot 2-for-3 from distance in the second half.

Tarleton had five different players score in the second half. Benjamin added nine points in the second half while shooting five for six from the line. Caleb Evans and Miles added six each while Joseph Martinez scored his first three points of his college career. Martinez hit one of two shots from the line before hitting his first shot from mid-range.

SMU shot 34 for 63 from the floor, a rate of 54 percent. Tarleton shot 18 for 49 from the floor for a 37 percent clip. The Texans shot 46 percent from deep (6 for 13), while SMU shot 42 percent (11 for 26). The Mustangs outshot the purple and white 35:29. SMU led the turnover battle, forcing 23 Texas turnovers while turning the ball over 13 times.

Tarleton will return to Wisdom Gym for its regular season home opener against Sam Houston. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the first game of last season at Wisdom Gym.