Texas A&M-Commerce 1-24-15: (Live Stats / Video / Audio / Tickets) Buffalo Basketball Game Notes CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M men's basketball team will return home for a weekend Lone Star Conference contest against Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 24. The Buffs and Lions will tipoff from the First United Bank Center (FUBC) in Canyon at 4 p.m. WT heads into the game with an 11-7 overall record and 2-3 mark in LSC play and have won eight of their last 11 games. The Lions enter the weekend with an impressive 14-3 (3-1, LSC) record while receiving votes in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) national rankings.
LIVE COVERAGE: Live stats and video will be available for Saturday's game courtesy of West Texas A&M Athletic Media Relations. Fans can also listen to the game as always on the radio by tuning into 98.7 Jack FM. Additional live updates can be seen 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.
BY THE THREE: Unlike the past several seasons, the Buffs are putting up points and doing it consistently. After eclipsing 80 points in just eight games during the 2013-14 season, WT has broken that total in 10 contests so far this year and is now averaging just shy of that total in points per game. A large part of that success has come from beyond the 3-point line. The Buffs rank eighth nationally and first in the LSC in 3FG attempts (492), 15th in in the nation and first in the LSC in 3FG per game (9.7), and 11th in the nation and first in the LSC once again in total 3FG made (175). The Buffs drained 15 triples last Saturday at Texas A&M-Kingsville, including eight-straight to start the second half. That would mark the eight time this season the Buffs have converted on at least 10 triples, and third time tallying at least 15 in a contest. Freshman guard
David Chavlovich has been the team's individual leader in each of those categories, ranking fourth in the nation in 3FG attempts (143), eighth in 3FG per game (3.41), and ninth in total 3FG made (58). He also tops the conference in each of those categories.
HEAD COACH TOM BROWN: WT welcomed in its 17th head coach in program history in the spring of 2014 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.
LSC PRESEASON POLL: Prior to the start of the season, 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.
TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE AT A GLANCE: The Lions come into Canyon on Saturday with a 14-3 overall record and 3-1 mark in LSC competition. They began the year with back-to-back wins over Lubbock Christian and New Mexico Highlands before dropping two-straight to Ouachita Baptist and Dallas Baptist. TAMUC would go on to a seven-game winning streak and have been victorious in 12 of the last 13 with a current five-game unbeaten streak. The lone loss in that stretch was to Midwestern State while wins came against Sul Ross State, California Baptist, Dixie State, Southern Arkansas (2x), Dallas Baptist, Henderson State, Arlington Baptist, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Cameron, McMurry, and Eastern New Mexico.
TAMUC comes into Saturday with the second-highest scoring offense in the league, averaging 83.1 points per game and a 14.2 scoring margin. The Buffs face a tough task on the glass as the Lions top the league in rebounds at 45.1 and a 9.6 margin, much higher than WT's 35.8 and -1.4. Forward Derrell Williams leads the LSC in both categories while averaging a double-double at 18.1 PPG and 12.5 RPG. He has been named the league's Offensive Player of the Week twice this season along with two identical awards on the defensive end.
The Buffs lead the all-time series with TAMUC, 47-27; however, have lost two straight.
TARLETON STATE REVISITED: WT gave up a small late second-half lead as it fell to No. 15 Tarleton State on the road, 76-71. The Buffs struggled shooting the ball on the night going just .390 from the field and .250 from beyond the arc with seven makes, a place they average nearly 10 from per game on the season. With the loss, WT fell to 11-7 overall and 2-3 in Lone Star Conference play. The Texans improved to 15-2 (3-2, LSC) with the victory inside Wisdom Gymnasium in Stephenville, Texas.
Freshman
David Chavlovich led the way for all scorers in the game with 26 points. He went 8-for-20 from the floor and 6-for-14 from 3-point range with three rebounds and two assists. Senior
Antjuan Ball would add 17 points with six rebounds.
WT would only find the net on two of its final eight attempts from the field as it fell to TSU by five in the end. In total, the Buffs went 24-for-61 from the field compared to 22-for-41 (.540) for the Texans. WT has struggled in rebounding overall this season but held the margin to just one tonight, trailing in the overall category, 34-33, while holding the advantage on the offensive glass 15-6. That would help the Buffs to 19 second-chance points to the Texans' nine.
At the under-eight media timeout, the Buffs were hanging on to a 59-57 lead with 7:41 left. Chavlovich then drilled the triple on the fast break to go up 62-57. TSU would respond; however, with an 11-0 run, making the score 68-62. The Buffs attempted to come back but could not cut it back within six as the final score fell 76-71 in favor of the home team.
The contest tonight was played as part of "Suits & Sneakers" week under the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in benefit of the American Cancer Society. With the result, the Texans even up the all-time series with WT, 23-23. WT has now lost six-straight in Stephenville and five-straight overall to the Texans.
