DALLAS – Huston-Tillotson University's men's basketball team dropped an emotional, double-overtime game Saturday at in-state HBCU Athletic Conference rival Paul Quinn as the host Tigers prevailed 83-73.
At PQC's Health & Wellness Center, Jordan Hicks came off the Paul Quinn bench to score a game-high 21 points as the Tigers (6-7) won claimed their first conference win in four tries.
Caleb Campbell scored 16 points and handed out seven assists to lead four HT players in double-figures. James Harrison also gave out seven assists in addition to scoring 10 points for the Rams; Harrison made his second start for the Rams and his first appearance of any kind for HT since Nov. 22 during the team's two-game road trip to New Orleans to open HBCUAC league play.
Ja'Patrick Blackmon and Blake Fisher scored 14 points and 12 points, respectively, off the HT bench Saturday. Blackmon shot 5-of-9 from the floor and made four out of his five 3-point attempts. He was also credited with two steals and wreaked havoc on the Paul Quinn's backcourt with his high-intensity defensive effort that has been a trademark of the Rams under current head coach John A. Smith.
Meanwhile, Fisher added three assists and five rebounds to his 12 points off the Ram bench. A junior in terms of athletic eligibility but is already a college graduate and enrolled in HT's graduate school, Fisher knocked down three high-pressure free throws with two seconds remaining in the first overtime period with the Rams down 68-65 to force the second overtime period.
Though it appeared the Tigers were on their way to an early Christmas gift in the form of a win in regulation, the Rams reclaimed a 63-60 lead on one of Fisher's 3-pointers with 2:02 remaining the game. That the Rams had a chance to win at all was somewhat surprising given the foul count stood at 10-3 in Paul Quinn's favor with less than a minute remaining. That gap in fouls narrowed as PQC committed four fouls in the final 39 seconds of regulation, but that was only because the Tigers needed possessions and to stop the clock in their comeback effort.
Even some of the neutral game-day workers, contracted by third-party vendors and not on either school's payroll, noticed the discrepancy in the foul count, and the ability of PQC players to seemingly draw fouls if insects landed on them. Meanwhile, HT's best chance to draw fouls on offense seemed to be when plays were dangerous or scary enough to bring Director of Sport Performance Alisha Tootle off the bench, and even that wasn't a guarantee.
Trailing 64-62 with six seconds remaining after a timeout, PQC's T.J. Mitchell launched a potential winning 3-pointer that was off the mark. The rebound was secured by Mekhi Johnson, whose putback at the buzzer forced the first overtime. Johnson, who averaged 8.4 rebounds per contest entering Saturday's game, scored 12 points and 18 rebounds against the Rams.
After Fisher's heroics at the free throw line late in the first overtime forced another extra frame, the Tigers pulled way for good with 11 unanswered points between the 4:22 and 32-second marks of the second overtime.
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The NOTE(S):
• The Tigers improved to 13-7 in home games against the Rams dating back to the 2005-06 season.
• Saturday's game was the second overtime contest for the Rams this season; they prevailed 91-86 in a single-overtime game at Texas A&M–San Antonio on Nov. 11.
• HT won the first game between the two teams at their current home venue, which opened in time for the 2019-20 season. The Tigers have since won the last five matchups at the Health & Wellness Center, which attracted national attention when it opened due to the artwork on the basketball court that shows a picture of the Dallas skyline as it appeared in the 1920s. Other artwork throughout the arena honors the Civil Rights movement and its history, especially as it was experienced in Dallas.
• The PQC Game Operations crew used numerous short sounds, many from the Super Mario Bros. video game franchise and the "Price is Right" game show to add celebration to successful Paul Quinn plays and to mock unsuccessful HT plays. This lesson was not lost on HT Sports Information Director Alan Wiederhold, who also serves as the public address announcer at HT's Branch Gymnasium, and runs the sound system about as well as can be expected for a 45-year-old administrator who had esoteric and old-fashioned tastes in music even as a teenager. The Rams host Paul Quinn in the rematch during HT's Homecoming on Feb. 14, 2026.
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UP NEXT:
The Rams close out the fall semester portion of their schedule Tuesday, Dec. 16, when they host the Broncos of Hastings College (Neb.) at Branch Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Hastings, a member program of the NAIA and the Great Plains Athletic Conference, visits the state of Texas this week with a 2-10 record and aiming to snap a five-game losing streak. HT is the first of two games the Broncos play in Texas this week against NAIA institutions … affiliated with the United Methodist Church … with athletic teams known as the "Rams." That's right, they then travel to Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth after their game at Huston-Tillotson.
– HT –
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