Box Score Season Statistics KINGSVILLE, Texas – Fifteen triples, including eight straight to open the second half, propelled the West Texas A&M men's basketball team to a dominating 71-52 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville on the road Saturday afternoon. After opening up the game on an 18-0 run and leading by as many as 28, the Buffs handled the Javelinas on their home court to improve to 11-6 (2-2, LSC) on the season. With the loss, TAMUK drops to 6-10 (1-3, LSC).
WT was led offensively by senior guard
Miles Gatewood who tallied 17 points on the day, going 6-for-9 from the field and a career-high 5-for-6 in 3-point field goals to go along with seven assists and seven rebounds. Freshmen
David Chavlovich and
Tommy Gove and senior
Tez Dumars sank three triples each as well. Chavlovich finished the contest with 15 points, five helpers, and a steal while Dumars grabbed 13 points with four assists and a steal.
The Buffs opened up with the game's first eight points, forcing a timeout on the Javelina bench with just under 17:00 on the clock. That advantage turned into an 18-0 run to begin the game as the Buffs drained seven of their first nine attempts from the field, including four from deep, two being off the hands of Gove. In that stretch, TAMUK started 0-for-9 from the floor and did not score its first basket until 13:30.
After the Buffs' momentum died down a little, the Javelinas went on a 16-9 run to pull the score to 27-20 with about five minutes remaining in the half. Between the final two media timeouts, WT failed to score a bucket in five-consecutive tries during a scoring drought spanning 5:29 on the clock.
The Javelinas were able to stay in the game through the remainder of the half thanks to free-throw shooting as they are the best in the league within the category. They finished the frame going a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. But another triple by Gove, who finished the half with nine points, would send the Buffs into the locker room up 33-22.
WT put on a 3-point shooting clinic to open up the second frame. The Buffs began the second half on a 16-5 run and made eight-consecutive triples before their first miss. Dumars and freshman
Carl White hit back-to-back from long range before Chavlovich got in on the action to drain three-straight of his own, umaking the score 48-27 at 16:43.
Gatewood would then hit back-to-back 3-pointers followed by an additional one by Dumars to make it eight in a row. That sent the Buffs near the under-12 media with a 58-32 advantage. The Buffs would hold on to a 20+ point lead all the way until the 1:52 mark. They would hold on to finish up by 19 with a 71-52 decision.
WT finished the contest going 25-for-60 (.417) from the field; however, went 15-for-30 (.500) from beyond the arc. TAMUK would be held to 18-for-60 (.300) from the field and just 5-for-24 (.208) from long range. WT was able to overcome one of its two major weaknesses in Kingsville on Saturday as they outrebounded the home team 48-36. The Javelinas; however, would go 11-for-15 (.733) from the free-throw line compared to 6-for-14 (.429) for the Buffs.
The Buffs never trailed in the contest have now won four-straight against TAMUK. WT now leads the all-time series 43-23.
WT will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 21, for a midweek LSC contest on the road against No. 10 Tarleton State. The Buffs and Texans will tipoff at 7:30 p.m. from Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas. WT holds a narrow 23-22 advantage in the all-time series with TSU; however, has dropped four-straight and has been knocked out by the Texans in the previous two LSC Tournaments. TSU currently holds a 13-2 overall record and 1-2 mark in LSC play. They played Cameron on the road this afternoon. Live stats and video will be provided by Tarleton State Athletics for Wednesday's contest. The game can be found on the radio as always by tuning into 98.7 Jack FM. Fans can also catch live updates by following @wtathletics on Twitter.
