QUICK HITS
- The Buffs shot 47.1% (16-34) from the floor in the first half including 34.8% (8-23) from long range
- WT started out the game on a 14-2 run as they hit four long balls (2 each by Gerber and Evans)
- The Buffs went on a 16-8 during the first four minutes of the second half to run the lead to 60-42
- WT is 2-0 all-time against Nova Southeastern, Friday night was the first ever meeting in Canyon
 
LEADING THE WAY (Statistical Leaders)
Points – Jordan Evans (WT, 24 Points), Casey Carroll (NSU, 16 Points)
Rebounds – Casey Carroll (NSU, 8 Rebounds), Jordan Evans (WT, 7 Rebounds)
Assists – Eric Golightly Jr. (WT, 6 Assists), Tommy Gove (WT, 4 Assists), Nick Pendergast (NSU, 3 Assists), Chris Page (NSU, 3 Assists), Nikita Orap (NSU, 3 Assists), Mike Chalas (NSU, 3 Assists)
Blocks – Ryan Quaid (WT, 2 Blocks), David Chavlovich (WT, 1 Block), Remi Ferrell (NSU, 1 Block)
Steals – Jeff Bonner (WT, 3 Steals), David Chavlovich (WT, 2 Steals), Eric Golightly Jr. (WT, 2 Steals), Garrett Brockman (WT, 2 Steals), Nikita Orap (NSU, 2 Steals), Dwayne Gibson (NSU, 2 Steals),
 
CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M Buffaloes started the game on a 14-2 run and never looked back as Jordan Evans and David Chavlovich combined for 47 points as the Buffs rushed past the visiting Sharks of Nova Southeastern, 90-61 in front of 379 fans at the First United Bank Center in Canyon during the 2015 Pak-A-Sak WT Thanksgiving Classic. The Buffs win their third straight contest to move to 4-2 on the season while the Sharks fall to 2-2 overall.
 
The Buffs grabbed a pair of early defensive rebounds before Jordan Evans started off the scoring with a transition three from the wing followed by a Sharks turnaround jumper in the lane for their first points, Rylan Gerber used a friendly roll for a three from the corner followed by a pair of turnovers and an Evans layup on a great pass from Jeff Bonner. Another NSU miss led to an Evans three from the corner from Gerber followed by an Evans block and Gerber three from the corner to run the lead to 14-2, the teams traded misses before a BJ Edwards three from the corner stopped the WT run followed by a long ball from Chris Page to cut the lead to 14-8 heading into the first media timeout of the half with 15:11 left.
 
An illegal screen on the Sharks gave the ball back to WT as Garrett Brockman grabbed a big offensive board and kicked out to David Chavlovich for a three from the wing, NSU answered with a three of their own followed by misses on both ends of the court before Brockman converted the steal and score to run the Buffs lead to 19-11. NSU turned the ball over with a walk that turned into an Eric Golightly Jr. fast break layup followed by another Sharks turnover as Evans connected on a runner off of the glass. The Sharks stopped the run with a layup but the WT offensive continued to click as Tommy Gove found Gerber in the corner for the three, NSU answered with a jumper followed by a WT miss to head into the under-12 minute media timeout with WT leading 26-15 with 10:27 left.
 
Casey Carroll hit one-of-two from the line for the Sharks after the break followed by a WT miss that led to a Carroll offensive board and putback to cut the lead to 26-18, Bonner answered with a great move in the paint for a layup before another NSU layup was followed by a Chavlovich floater in the lane with 8:21 left followed by a pair of unsuccessful possessions as the teams headed into a media timeout with 7:34 left and the Buffs leading 30-20.
 
The Sharks scored on their first possession after the break before Bonner found Brockman under the basket for a layup before NSU cut into the lead with a three from the top of the key, the teams traded turnovers and misses before Chavlovich found Evans for a three followed by a Sharks long ball to answer with 4:51 left. Ryan Quaid hit one-of-two from the charity stripe for his first point of the game followed by an Evans defensive board and another NSU foul that sent Quaid to the line again as the freshman missed both which led to a Shark layup. WT missed on a fast break opportunity before an NSU turnover led to a Chavlovich layup followed by another Sharks give-away as Evans hit a three from the top of the key to make it 41-30, NSU knocked down a jumper as the teams headed into the last media timeout of the half with 2:09 left.
 
WT couldn't find the bottom of the net on their first possession after the timeout but NSU missed as well as Bonner was fouled hard on a fast break attempt as the Sharks were called for the flagrant foul heading into a WT timeout with the Buffs leading 41-32 with 1:13 on the clock. The senior hit one-of-two from the line followed by another NSU foul as Chavlovich knocked down two to run the lead to 44-32, the teams traded misses before a runner in the lane by NSU looked to end the half before a Sharks technical foul sent the teams into the locker room with WT leading 44-34.
 
The Buffs went 16-of-34 (47.1%) from the floor in the first half including 8-of-23 (34.8%) from deep and 4-of-8 (50%) from the charity stripe to go along with 20 rebounds (six offensive, 14 defensive), 14 assists, four fouls, five turnovers, one block and five steals. Evans went 6-of-11 from the floor including 4-of-9 from deep as he led the Buffs with 16 points followed by Chavlovich and Gerber with nine each.
 
Nova Southeastern went 14-of-32 (43.8%) from the floor in the half including 5-of-16 (31.3%) from deep and 1-of-2 (50%) from the free throw line to go along with 18 rebounds (five offensive, 13 defensive), 10 fouls, 10 assists, nine turnovers, no blocks and three steals in the first period. Page led NSU with 14 points at the break as the senior went 6-of-10 from the floor including 2-of-4 from long range followed by Remi Ferrell with seven points and Carroll with six.
 
The Buffs shot a pair of free throws for the technical foul before the half as Evans hit both followed by an NSU turnover that led to a Golightly Jr. runner off of the glass, Dwayne Gibson Jr. knocked down a three for the Sharks followed by a WT miss before another Sharks turnover led to a Chavlovich fast break layup to run the score to 50-37. NSU turned the ball over again as they flagrantly fouled Evans who hit them both followed by a Bonner layup from Chavlovich, Carroll hit a three from the wing to stop the WT run before Chavlovich answered with one of his own followed by a Sharks miss and another three by  Chavlovich. Carroll registered an offensive board and putback as the teams headed into a media timeout with 15:59 on the clock as WT held the 60-42 lead.
 
The Sharks registered a steal and score right after the break as Jordan Stookey completed a three point play followed by misses on both ends of the court before a double-foul gave the ball back to the Buffs with the possession arrow, Golightly Jr. hit one-of-two from the free throw line before the Sharks answered with a layup to make it 61-47. Evans grabbed an offensive board and finished with a floater in the lane followed by a Gove defensive rebound and coast-to-coast layup with 13:03 left, Golightly Jr. grabbed a board but WT missed on their end of the court before an NSU turnover and foul that sent Evans to the line as he hit both. The Sharks responded with a Troy Spears three from the corner before Bonner finished on the other end of the court with a layup as WT took a 69-50 lead into a timeout with 11:38 left.
 
The teams traded misses after the break before a Sharks air-ball send the teams into the under-12 minute media timeout with WT leading 69-50 with 10:35 left, the Sharks hit one-of-two from the line followed by misses on both ends of the court before Carroll hit two from the charity stripe to cut the lead to 69-53 with 8:25 remaining. The Sharks turned on the full-court pressure as WT turned the ball over heading into the next media timeout with 7:55 left and the Buffs leading 69-53.
 
Carroll missed the front end of a one-and-one after the break that led to three by Chavlovich from the wing followed by a Bonner steal and NSU foul as Gove hit two to run the lead to 74-53, Carroll nailed a three followed by a WT miss and a Sharks turnover and foul as Chavlovich added to his game total with a free throw to make it 75-56. Nova connected on a layup followed by a WT turnover and Shark foul as Chavlovich hit two from the line followed by a pair of misses and an NSU foul headed into the last media timeout of the game with WT leading 77-58 with 3:53 left.
 
Brockman knocked down two from the free throw line before Nikita Orap nailed a three from the wing with the shot clock winding down, Antonio Ferreira got in on the scoring action with a layup followed by an NSU turnover and Gerber long ball from the wing with 2:51 left. The teams traded bad possessions before a Ferreira offensive rebound sent the teams into a timeout with the Buffs leading 84-61 with 1:29 left. Chandler Fuzak registered his first points in maroon and white after the break with a layup followed by a Brockman defensive rebound that allowed WT to run more time off of the clock as a Shark foul sent Ferreira to the line to hit two, Ferreira ended the game with a steal and slam as WT took the 90-61 victory.
 
The Buffs went 29-of-59 (49.2%) from the floor including 12-of-34 (35.3%) from deep and 20-of-26 (76.9%) from the charity stripe in the game to go along with 39 total rebounds (10 offensive, 29 defensive), 13 fouls, 22 assists, 11 turnovers, three blocks and 13 steals. Evans went 7-of-14 from the field including 4-of-11 from deep to lead all players with 24 points followed by Chavlovich with 23 and Gerber with 12.
 
Nova Southeastern shot 37.7% (23-of-61) from the floor including 34.5% (10-of-29) from long range and 50% (5-of-10) from the free throw line to go along with 34 rebounds (12 offensive, 22 defensive), 21 fouls, 18 assists, 18 turnovers, one block and seven steals on the night. The Sharks were led by Carroll with 16 points as the junior went 5-of-9 from the floor including 3-of-6 from deep followed by Page with 14 points on the night.
 
NEXT TIME OUT
The Buffs will close out their five-game homestand on Saturday night as they conclude the 2015 Pak-A-Sak WT Thanksgiving Classic with a matchup against the Hornets of Emporia State with tipoff set for 5 p.m. at the First United Bank Center in Canyon. The Hornets enter the weekend with an overall record of 1-2 as they take on Eastern New Mexico (1-3) on Friday night in Canyon in a 7:30 p.m. start.