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CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M Buffaloes will open up their 2015-16 home schedule this weekend as they host Lubbock Christian and New Mexico Highlands at the First United Bank Center in Canyon. The Chaps come to town on Thursday night at 7 p.m. followed by a doubleheader against NMHU as the #9 Lady Buffs start off the action against the Cowgirls at 2 p.m. followed by the men's matchup at 4 p.m.
WEST TEXAS A&MThe Buffs enter the weekend with an overall record of 1-1 following the Skykhawk Regional Challenge last weekend in Durango, Colorado that saw WT fall to host Fort Lewis (91-81) on Friday night before rebounding with a 89-74 win over New Mexico Highlands on Saturday night at Whalen Gymnasium. The Buffs were led offensively by
David Chavlovich who scored 21 points in both contests as the sophomore guard went 13-of-24 (54.2%) from the floor including 8-of-15 (53.3%) from long range and 8-of-13 (61.5%) from the charity stripe to go along with four rebounds and a steal. Freshman
Ryan Quaid led the Buffs defensively as the Fort Collins native went 6-of-11 from the floor to shoot 54.5% while also tallying a 64.3% shooting clip from the charity stripe as he went 9-14. He tied a team high with 21 rebounds on the weekend with nine offensive and 14 defensive to average 7.0 per game.
WT HEAD COACH TOM BROWNHead coach
Tom Brown was hired on April 16, 2014, as the 17th head coach in WT men's basketball history. The Buffs completed an impressive season under Brown in his rookie campaign in Canyon. While returning just three student-athletes who saw playing time the year prior and picked last in the conference preseason poll, WT finished the season with a 17-12 overall record (12-4 at home) and 7-7 mark in Lone Star Conference play. They made the LSC Tournament as the fifth seed and fell in the quarterfinals to eventual tournament champion Texas A&M-Commerce.
LIVE COVERAGEThe West Texas A&M Athletic Media Relations Department will provide live stats and video for both contests at the First United Bank Center this weekend in Canyon. For links, please visit the Buffalo Basketball schedule page at GoBuffsGo.com. Fans can also follow the Buffs on social media by searching @WestTXD2Hoops or West Texas A&M Men's Basketball to get an inside look at the program.
LSC PRESEASON MEDIA DAY (OCT. 28)Tarleton State earned top billing according to the 2015-16 Lone Star Conference men's basketball preseason poll announced by the league's offices on October 28th. TSU claimed the top spot with 19 first-place votes and 173 points after winning the LSC Championship last season with a 12-2 league mark. Midwestern State finished second with 151 points including the remaining three first-place votes. Angelo State was third with 120 points, followed by defending tournament champions Texas A&M-Commerce in fourth (109). West Texas A&M was picked fifth with 84 points with Cameron sixth (72), Texas A&M- Kingsville (55), and Eastern New Mexico (28) rounding out the poll.
MSU's Bretson McNeal was tabbed Preseason Player of the Year. The LSC has eight teams set for this season and the league race should be as competitive as ever. The season begins November 13 with LSC teams playing a double round robin league schedule, in which each team plays a home and away contest against each of the other teams to determine the LSC champion. The LSC champion will be the regular season winner determined by league games, while the postseason tournament winner is designated as LSC Tournament Champion and earns the conference's automatic qualification. The top eight teams in the final conference standings qualify for the postseason tournament set for March 2-5 in Allen, Texas.
SKYHAWK REGIONAL CHALLENGE RECAPSThe Buffs held a 13 point lead with just over 10 minutes remaining but the Skyhawks of Fort Lewis battled back and ended the game on a 32-9 run as they took a 91-81 victory over the Buffs in front of over 1,500 fans during the Skyhawk Regional Challenge at Whalen Gymnasium in the 2015 season opener on Friday night in Durango, Colorado. WT was led offensively by Chavlovich with 21 points followed by
Jeff Bonner with 14 and
Eric Golightly Jr. with 13. West Texas A&M went 25-60 (41.7%) from the floor including 5-21 (23.8%) from deep and 26-40 (65%) from the charity stripe to go along with 39 reboounds (13 offensive, 26 defensive), 23 fouls, 10 assists, 11 turnover, one block and eight steals on the night.
WT used five players in double-figures highlighted by Chavlovich with 21 points as the Buffs topped New Mexico Highlands, 89-74 at Whalen Gymnasium on the campus of Fort Lewis to wrap-up the Skyhawk Regional Challenge. The Buffs went 31-63 (49.2%) from the floor including 10-32 (31.2%) from deep and 17-27 (63%) from the charity stripe to go along with 38 rebounds (13 offensive, 25 defensive, 30 fouls, 16 assists, 12 turnovers, two blocks and eight steals on the night. The Buffs were led by Chavlovich with 21 points followed by
Jordan Evans with 15, Quaid with 12,
Joseph Prince with 11 and Bonner with 10.
LUBBOCK CHRISTIANThe Chaps enter the weekend with an overall record of 1-1 as they topped former NAIA rival Wayland Baptist, 91-82 in an exhibition game before a win over Regis (72-54) and a loss to #10 Colorado School of Mines (68-83) during the RMAC/Heartland Challenge last weekend in Golden, Colorado. Lubbock Christian is led by fifth year head coach Todd Duncan who has led the Chaps to a third place finish in the Heartland Conference during their first three seasons as a Division II member. The Chaps are led offensively by Tyler Rogers (14.5ppg) who has went 11-of-22 (50%) from the floor including 0-of-2 (0%) from deep and 7-of-8 (87.5%) from the free throw line to go along with seven total rebounds on the season. The Chaps are shooting 42.7% from the floor this season including 33.3% from behind the arc and 74.1% from the free throw line to go along with 68 rebounds (21 offensive, 47 defensive), 33 assists, 18 turnovers, 18 steals and five blocks. The Buffs are 16-2 all-time against Lubbock Christian with WT taking the last meeting between the two teams, 67-58 last season in Canyon.
NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS The Cowboys enter the weekend with an overall record of 1-1 as they fell in a pair of exhibition contests to Grand Canyon (53-84) and UNLV (45-107) while going 1-1 at the Skyhawk Regional Challenge with a win over Eastern New Mexico (85-77) before falling to WT in the tournament finale, 89-74. NMHU takes on the University of Wyoming on Thursday night in Laramie before making the trip to Canyon on Saturday. The Cowboys are led by second year head coach Craig Snow who led NMHU to an overall record of 5-21 last season with a 5-17 mark in the RMAC. The Cowboys are led offensively by Jonathon Mines who is averaging 18.0 points per game this season, going 11-of-22 (50%) from the floor including 4-of-11 (36.4%) from deep and 10-of-14 (71.4%) from the free throw line. NMHU is shooting 45.9% from the floor this season including 38.9% from behind the arc and 72.4% from the charity stripe to go along with 71 rebounds (nine offensive, 62 defensive), 21 assists, 37 turnovers, nine steals and 10 blocks on the season. The Buffs lead the all-time series against the Cowboys, 29-2 with WT taking the last four meetings between the two teams.
