Tarleton Steals a Win; Welcome Back, Cam; It's the Dom Show; and More
Texans pick up rare road win, Cam Tyson returns, A little lefty guard is really good, and weekly power rankings
These week days when there are no WAC basketball games get kind of boring. Sure, I love college basketball and there have been some entertaining games throughout the early parts of the week over the past four weeks.
But, it just doesn’t hit the same as if it were two WAC teams going blow for blow or shall we say, haymaker for haymaker, right SFA fans?
Thursday can’t come soon enough. Two more days. Not only that, but a big time small town throw down takes place in East Texas. First place is kind of on the line…for three teams. SFA hosts GCU at The Sawmill on Thursday night. GCU is all alone in first place in the WAC standings. SFA is one game behind. Tarleton is also one game behind the Lopes. An SFA win coupled with a Tarleton win over Southern Utah would create a 3-way tie for first place.
So, you can see, Thursday is a big deal around the Western Athletic Conference.
We will talk more about that in Thursday’s newsletter. But for now, make sure you subscribe..yes, you can subscribe for free and get a newsletter in your inbox every day of the week for the next eight weeks. Why miss out on news around the WAC? At least this way you don’t have to go searching for the content. Or, if you really enjoy our content, you can sign up for a monthly subscription at $4 per month for the next 11 months or so or $40 for the year. Not a bad deal. Either way, subscribe and get the newsletter five times a week.
Now, let’s get back to this WAC Wednesday newsletter.
Texans Steal a Win in South Texas
Down 14 at halftime. Couldn’t hit a 3-pointer if their life depended on it. Deficit crept up to 20 in the second half. It was down to 14 with a little under 12 minutes to play.
Do you get the point, yet?
Tarleton literally stole a game away from UTRGV. Lue Williams hit big shots down the stretch.
Jakorie Smith looked over and pointed at me after giving Tarleton the lead for good in the second half. Maybe it was to say, ‘hey, don’t rank us lower again in your power rankings!’
Dario Domingos played big minutes in the second half. And Tarleton, despite going 1-11 from 3-point range, somehow headed back to Stephenville with a 77-73 win to stay right in the mix for the regular season crown
A steal, indeed. Tarleton had eight steals on the night, owned a 46-28 advantage in points in the paint, and finished the game on a 35-14 run. Yes, the Texans scored 35 points in 11 minutes to win the ball game.
It didn’t help UTRGV’s cause when Ahren Freeman went down with a back injury with 11:45 to play. That is about the time Tarleton turned it on and the comeback began.
Up to that point, Freeman was on triple-double watch and UTRGV was +14 with him on the floor.
In the end, the Texans came away with a rare road win in WAC play. In fact, home teams are 22-3 since January 6th.
Welcome Back, Cam Tyson
Saturday night was the biggest game at the Redhawk Center in quite some time. A top-50 NET team in Grand Canyon came to town. The Lopes had not lost a WAC game and were riding a 14-game win streak.
Seattle U had lost three straight, all on the road. Two and a half of those three losses were played without Cam Tyson, who suffered an ankle injury in the first half against UTRGV two weeks prior.
Perhaps it was a ploy by Chris Victor and his staff to hold Cam Tyson out for those two and a half games. Maybe it wasn’t. Either way, Cam Tyson returned with a flourish on Saturday night. Tyson hit five 3-pointers and had a team-high 25 points to lead the Redhawks to an 86-79 over the Lopes.
"I'm really proud of this team. Coming off a tough road trip and battling injuries, they came back with amazing energy today," said Head Coach Chris Victor. "I'm just proud of their resolve and their believe in each other. This was a special win for us."
Despite 28 points from Gabe McGlothan and 25 points from Tyon Grant-Foster, the Redhawks were able to pick up one of the biggest wins under Chris Victor.
After Gabe McGlothan hit two free throws to give GCU a 79-78 lead, Cam Tyson came off a screen on the left wing and drilled a 3-pointer to give the Redhawks the lead for good.
GCU didn’t score over the final 2:22 in a game that knocked the Lopes from the ranks of the unbeaten in WAC play.
Meet Dominique Daniels Jr., Everyone!
On Monday night, I messaged the Voice of the Lancers Braiden Bell to ask his advice on a nickname for the starting point guard of the Lancers.
Lethal Lefty is what I believe we both agreed would sound awesome.
At 5’10, Dominique Daniels Jr. is usually one of the smallest players on the floor night in and night out. Yet, the Lethal Lefty is exactly that…Lethal.
Whether it is the nifty quick crossover or the little floater in the lane…even an alley-oop dunk from time-to-time, Daniels Jr. is quietly making his mark on the WAC in his first season in Riverside.
On Monday, Daniels Jr. was named WAC Player of the Week and WAC Newcomer of the Week after a career-high 39-point outburst in a win over Southern Utah on Saturday.
Over his last three games, all wins, Daniels Jr. is averaging 25.0 points per game. Yes, this Lethal Lefty has been dominant at the Fowler Events Center in Riverside.
On the season, Daniels Jr. is second in the WAC in scoring at 18.9 points per game. In WAC play, Daniels Jr. is averaging 20.4 points per game.
If the Lancers make a run, Daniels Jr. or the Lethal Lefty will be a big reason why.
Weekly Power Rankings
These are sure to cause a stir. But, that is the whole reason we put together the power rankings.
GCU is still at the top because, well, because they lost on the road at a place where a lot of teams don’t win. Tarleton stays at two after its road win. SFA stays at three after its near escape against Seattle U in overtime on Thursday. Seattle U moves up to four after its win over GCU.
California Baptist moves ahead of Utah Valley simply because the Lancers looked really good at home the past two weeks. UVU played arguably its best game of the season on Saturday against Utah Tech.
ACU jumps ahead of UT Arlington because of the win over the Mavs on Saturday. The rest, as you can see, had just two wins between them this week. UT Arlington beat UTRGV at home. And Southern Utah beat Utah Tech in Cedar City.