STEPHENVILLE, Texas – The Dallas Christian College men's basketball team showed out against NCAA Division I Tarleton State University in a Tuesday night exhibition game that included coverage on ESPN+. The Crusaders trailed the second-year members of the WAC by 10 points at the break, and were able to keep things within reach until the closing minutes.
 
Tarleton State improved to 2-7 on the season, while this game did not count for the Crusaders, but had to give them confident for their home opener versus Ozark Christian College on Friday.
 
Jairus Allen was the leading scorer for the Crusaders with 14 points thanks to 6-for-9 shooting from the floor. Tilyr Hobson added 12 points and tied a team-high five rebounds with Nick Erves, who logged the most minutes on the court with 31 total. Tyjuan Battles rounded out a trio of double-digit scorers with 10 and dished three assists. The Crusaders shared the ball well with 18 assists and fought for 32 boards.
 
The Texans were led by Noah McDavid with a game-high 25 points thanks to an 11-for-12 effort from the free throw line. He made four of the team's five triples, but took 12 attempts. They garnered 54 rebounds and held a 16-2 edge on second chance points. Tarleton was able win the game from the free throw line with a 23-for-28 effort compared to 10-for-13 by the guests.
 
Dallas Christian outdid the Texans on fast break points, 28-20, and points off turnovers, 15-14. The Crusaders were only edged by two on points in the paint, 36-34.
 
Dallas Christian got on the board with a steal by Erves that he found Hobson for a fast break layup to knot the score at two just under three minutes into the game. After falling behind 9-3 in the early going, Allen cut the score to four with a jumper. DCC would never be closer than that, but held around most of the opening frame. A layup by Micah Tucker sliced the score to 23-18 with just under nine to go. After falling behind by 11, Battles would drain a triple to make it 34-29 with 4:43. Tarleton answered with eight straight points thanks to a pair of three-pointers by McDavid that opened the lead to 13, which was the largest of the half. DCC had the last three points in under a minute, which included a huge dunk by Hobson in the closing seconds. Jason Makayabo had the assist.
 
Allen had layups on a pair of moments in the early start of the second half that narrowed the score to six for the Crusaders. DCC would keep the score in single-digits through the first four minutes. An Erves steal led to a Hobson layup that made things 60-52 at 13:16, and that was the final time the score was under 10 the rest of the way. Tarleton pulled out to a 20-point lead for its largest of the game, but six points in a row on the fast break by Makayabo and two from Battles would cut the score to 77-63 with five and half minutes.
 
This was a huge moment for DCC, who had fallen 103-48 last season. That game was Tarleton's first win as a NCAA Division I program. This was the 12^th time these programs had met. The Texans have played three top-20 ranked teams including No. 3 Kansas, No. 20 Michigan, and No. 3 Gonzaga (rankings at the time of play).
 
Dallas Christian has played 11 exhibitions and 13 times this year, all on the road. The road warriors are ready to be back in front of the home fans for the first time on Friday, December 10, versus Ozark Christian College at 2 p.m.
 
That game will also be the Hoops Hysteria 2021 game.
 
"Dallas Christian educates and mentors students to be people of influence engaging in their calling to the work of Christ in the church and in the world."