vs CSU-Pueblo 11-22-14: (Live Stats / Audio / Tickets)

Buffalo Basketball Game Notes
 
CANYON, Texas – After opening up the season with a three-game road swing, the West Texas A&M men's basketball team returns home to Canyon to commence a six-game homestand. The streak of games at the First United Bank Center (FUBC) will start Saturday, Nov. 22, as the Buffs (0-3) host an early-season rematch with the ThunderWolves (3-0) of Colorado State-Pueblo at 4 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE: Live stats will be available for Saturday's contest with CSUP courtesy of West Texas A&M Athletic Media Relations. The game will also broadcasted on the radio through 98.7 Jack FM. Additional updates throughout the game can be found by following @wtathletics on Twitter. Links can be found at the top of the page or on www.GoBuffsGo.com via the men's basketball schedule page.
 
HOME SWEET HOME: After beginning the season with three-consecutive road games, the Buffs now get a break from travel and a chance to play FUBC for a six-game homestand. That streak will begin with CSUP on Saturday, Nov. 22. Additional opponents will include Pittsburg State, Harding, Emporia State, Lubbock Christian, and St. Gregory's.
 
FAMILIAR FACES: WT returns just four players, three of which saw playing time, from last year's squad that finished with a 10-17 overall record and last place in the LSC (2-12). Returning to the starting lineup are seniors Antjuan Ball, Miles Gatewood, and Tez Dumars. Also back for WT is redshirt freshman Rylan Gerber.
 
HEAD COACH TOM BROWN: WT welcomed in its 17th head coach in program history earlier this spring in Tom Brown who comes to Canyon after an impressive career as the Associate Head Coach at Winona State, one of the most successful Division II men's basketball programs in recent history. Brown coached the Warriors to two National Championships and three appearances in the title game while at WSU. His accomplishments there also include four Elite Eight appearances, six conference championships, five conference tournament titles, 10-straight 20 win seasons, 10 All-Americans and three National Players of the Year.
 
Brown is joined on the bench by first-year Associate Head Coach Chris Gove and Assistant Coaches Quincy Henderson and Dan Kratz.
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL: Last week, the LSC announced the annual men's basketball preseason poll and awards. WT was picked eighth in the league heading into the 2014-15 season. Tarleton State topped the preseason rankings while Xavier Blackburn of Midwestern State was chosen as the Preseason Player of the Year.
 
TSU was picked in the top spot with 12 first-place votes and 156 points, closely edging MSU, who received five first-place nods and 155 points. Angelo State comes in at third with 134 points and one top vote, followed by Texas A&M-Commerce in fourth (117 points and three first-place votes), and Cameron in fifth (66 points). Texas A&M-Kingsville (59 points), Eastern New Mexico (57 points and one top vote) and WT (48 points) rounded out the poll.
 
LEADING THE LONE STAR: Both seniors Tez Dumars and Antjuan Ball currently sit atop the Lone Star Conference in scoring through three games of action. Dumars leads all individuals in the league, averaging 21.0 points per-game. The Dallas, Texas native has gone 19-for-50 (.380) from the field, 4-for-15 (.267) from deep, and 21-for-29 (.724) from the line. Ball currently sits in second in the league with 19.7 points per-game and has gone 25-for-48 (.521) from the field and 3-for-8 (.375) from long range. He also leads the league in rebounding at 11.7 boards per-game.
 
CSU-PUEBLO AT A GLANCE: The ThunderWolves come into Canyon on Saturday with a perfect 3-0 record with all three victories coming against Lone Star Conference opponents. CSUP opened up the season with a 94-81 win over WT at the Al Kaly Shriner's Classic at the Massari Arena in Pueblo, Colo. It would then defeat Midwestern State, 89-76, in the second day of the tournament. In their last time out, the ThunderWolves rolled over Eastern New Mexico, 109-81, at home.
 
Leading the way offensively have been Bronson Moton, Rico Spikes, and Tyrone Marshall, each who are averaging 17.0 points per-game and each who have shot over .600 from the field. CSUP has averaged 97.3 points per-game with a scoring margin of +18.0, while owning a +6.7 rebounding margin and shooting .503 from the field.
 
WT leads the all-time series with CSUP, 12-5; however, the Buffs have dropped two-straight meetings, including this season's opener in Pueblo.
 
WAYLAND BAPTIST REVISITED: Seniors Antjuan Ball, Miles Gatewood, and Tez Dumars each recorded career-highs in points on Tuesday night as WT fell to 0-3 to begin the season with a 99-91 loss down I-27 to nearby Wayland Baptist in Plainview, Texas. With the win, the 16th ranked NAIA-member Pioneers improve to 4-0 on the season.
 
Dumars recorded a team-high 27 points in the loss on Tuesday night as he shot 8-for-14 from the field and grabbed three 3-pointers off of five attempts. Ball and Gatewood would each add 21 points to the Buffs' total as the team surpassed 80 points as a team for the third-straight contest to start the season.
 
The Buffs grabbed momentum back late in the first half and closed out the half on a 19-4 run. Dumars would open, carry, and end that run as he finished the half with 13 points. He would total 14 of those 19 points during that stretch.
 
The Buffs opened the second frame much in the same fashion as they ended the first. The run would extend to 24-4 as the Buffs scored the first seven points of the half, ending with another make from beyond the arc by Gatewood. The tide would then quickly turn in favor of the home team as the Pioneers stormed to a 16-0 run during which time the Buffs went on a shooting drought from the field spanning 5:41 on the clock. WBU never looked back and closed the game for only its second win against WT in program history.