The Tarleton State University men’s basketball team started off the season with a win when they hosted Southwestern Adventist University on Saturday, Nov. 9. Davene Carter guided the Texans to their season opening victory with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

The Texans have .080 shooting percent better this season in the field than last season with a .618 percent. This marks the highest shooting percentage from a Tarleton team since the .619 percent against A&M-Commerce on Jan. 4, 2007.

Coleman Furst also aided in the team’s win with 18 points and six assists. De’Andre Upchurch added 16 points of his own. Upchurch had four successful three pointers of the seven attempted and 6-of-11 were made from the field.

Tashawn Mabry and Mohammed Lee had their Tarleton debut, Mabry with 14 points and Lee with 10. Jon Cathey-Macklin, last season’s Lone Star Conference Player of the Year, added 10 points to the Texans’ score, along with six rebounds and two blocks. Chuck Guy was the leading Texan with eight assists.

On the defensive side, the Texans stopped the Knights by giving them only 21-of-60 (.350 percent) from the field, and had 12 personal fouls during the game. The Texans also had five blocks and six steals.

At the half, Tarleton had managed to earn a 36-point lead over SWAU with a score of 66-30.

The 100-point barrier was broken by Cathey-Macklin’s layup with 9:38 left in the game and made the score 101-41.

At the final buzzer, the scoreboard read 118-54 in favor of the Texans.

The Texans’ next game will be Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. The game will be the beginning of the 2013 Texan Tip-Off Classic held on Friday and Saturday.