Box Score
 
Season Statistics
 
CANYON, Texas – With a big 40-point victory on Saturday afternoon, the West Texas A&M men's basketball team now improves to 5-4 on the season after defeating St. Gregory's 89-49 at the First United Bank Center (FUBC) in Canyon, Texas. The Buffs now have a winning mark for the first time this season under head coach Tom Brown as SGU drops to 5-6 on the year after the first-ever meeting between the two programs. WT was led in scoring by senior Antjuan Ball who tallied 18 points with eight rebounds and four assists.
 
The Buffs jumped out to a hot start on Saturday with a 46-28 lead at the break, not missing a beat after a 10-day break from the hardwood. WT would never look back from there as it outscored the Cavaliers 43-21 in the second frame. Ball would finish off the night 9-for-13 from the floor after not missing a shot in the first half and putting on a show with six dunks.
 
"I thought this was a really great ball game for our team," noted Brown. "We gave the kids a good amount of time off during finals and had some quality time to prepare for this game. They looked really sharp and played about as close to a full 40-minute game as we could have."
 
WT out-rebounded its opponents 50-27 on the night, including a 37-27 advantage on the defensive end. 10 of those boards came from senior Miles Gatewood, all on the defensive glass as well, a new career high for the Portland, Ore., native. The Buffs led the entire 40 minutes this afternoon and all 10 active players who suited up scored. The game would also be the sixth this season in which the Buffs have scored over 80 points as a team.
 
The Buffs rolled out of the opening tipoff to score the game's first six points, highlighted by two big slam dunks by Ball, who grabbed each of the six points. The Cavaliers would then grab a 3-pointer by Tajh Downs to get on the board; however, WT stepped on the gas, opening up an 11-3 run to make the score 17-6 heading towards the second media timeout of the first half.
 
SGU answered with an 11-1 run of its own, spanning 3:22 on the clock, to cut the Buffs' lead to one, making the score 18-17 with 10:17 remaining. Three buckets from long range would lead that charge, including two from Marquarius Boddie.
 
WT failed to give up the lead; however, as it scored the game's next 11 points, thanks to another rebound and slam by Ball followed by a triple from senior Tez Dumars. That would make the score 29-18 in favor of the Buffs with 7:40 remaining.
 
After allowing five quick points after the third media timeout, the Buffs closed out the half on a 17-6 run. WT drained four buckets from deep to highlight the run, two by freshman David Chavlovich, who finished the half with eight points, while the other two came off the hands of freshman Carl White and redshirt-freshman Rylan Gerber.
 
Taking a 46-28 lead into the locker room at halftime, the Buffs went 18-for-32 from the field (.563), its second best output of the season for an opening half. They were led by Ball who went a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor, leading all scorers with 14 points while also adding a game-high eight rebounds with three assists for the half.
 
The Cavaliers were held to 9-for-30 from the field (.300) in the opening half. They were led in scoring by Downs who put up nine points to the visitors' total.
 
Dumars would open up with a strong second half as he nailed two shots from long range, helping the Buffs build a 22-point lead heading into the second media timeout. The score would be 62-40 with just under 12 minutes left in the game.
 
The Buffs continued to build off that lead with a couple of big plays by freshman Garrett Brockman out of the timeout, grabbing back-to-back boards on the offensive glass with ensuing buckets in the paint, followed by another dunk by Ball to make the lead 70-44.
 
Freshman Eric Mosley found some big minutes off the bench tonight and grabbed his first career points as a Buffalo, draining a triple to give WT the 73-44 lead. That bucket would come in the middle of a big scoring drought for the Cavaliers that extended over seven minutes, finally ending with 1:40 on the clock thanks to a bucket by Aaron Mazibuko.
 
WT's hot-shooting continued throughout the end of the contest with additional 3-pointers in the final minutes by Gove, Gerber and Chavlovich as the Buffs ended the game on a 25-5 run.
 
The Buffs finished off the afternoon going 35-for-63 from the floor (.560) and 13-for-31 (.420), also the second highest percentage for the Buffs on the season. Dumars had a big night as well with 15 points. Also scoring in double figures for WT were Chavlovich and White with 11 points each. Brockman grabbed himself a career high in points as well with eight.
 
Today's game was considered as an exhibition for St. Gregory's; however, a countable game for WT.
 
WT will return to action next week with a trip to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. for two contests with Nova Southeastern and Missouri-St. Louis at the Don Taft University Center. The Buffs will first take on the host Sharks on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. (C.T.). They will then play a neutral site matchup with the Tritons on Saturday, Dec. 20 with tipoff scheduled for 12 p.m. (C.T.). Check out the men's basketball schedule page on www.GoBuffsGo.com for information on how to follow the action. Scoring updates can also be seen by following @wtathletics on Twitter.