QUICK HITS
- WT shot 45.7% (16-of-35) from the floor in the first half compared to 36.7% (11-of-30) by MACU
- The Evangels got 10 of their 38 first half points from the charity stripe (10-of-12)
- The teams combined for 19 turnovers and 11 steals in the opening half
- WT went 11-of-33 (33.3%) from long range in the game and 12-of-21 (66.7%) from the line
- MACU registered 20 turnovers in the game that led to 29 points by the Buffs
- WT leads the all-time series against Mid-America Christian, 2-0 with both wins coming in Canyon
 
LEADING THE WAY (Statistical Leaders)
Points – Jordan Evans (WT, 21 Points), David Chavlovich (WT, 21 Points), Devonse Reed (MACU, 17 Points)
Rebounds – Rylan Gerber (WT, 8 Rebounds), Byron Miller (MACU, 7 Rebounds)
Assists – Tommy Gove (WT, 5 Assists), Malcom Mann (MACU, 4 Assists)
Blocks – Chris Runnels (MACU, 3 Blocks), Rylan Gerber (WT, 1 Block), Ryan Quaid (WT, 1 Block)
Steals – Jerrod Walton (WT, 3 Steals), Malcom Mann (MACU, 3 Steals), Devonse Reed (MACU, 3 Steals), Byron Miller (MACU, 3 Steals)
 
CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M Buffaloes took a six point lead into the locker room for halftime and never trailed in the game as they outlasted the visiting Evangels of Mid-America Christian, 81-76 on Tuesday night in front of 575 fans at the First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas. The Buffs improve to 7-3 on the season while the Evangels fall to 8-3 overall.
 
The teams traded misses to start the game before David Chavlovich knocked down a long ball from the wing followed by a MACU turnover and a Jeff Bonner layup for the early 5-0 lead, Devonse Reed answered with a three from the wing followed by misses and a Jordan Evans long ball from the top of the key. The Evangels missed from long range as Tommy Gove hit a three from the corner to force a MACU timeout with 16:38 left and WT leading 11-3, the teams traded misses after the break before an Evangels layup and block took the teams into the first media timeout of the half with 15:51 left and WT leading 15-5.
 
MACU hit two from the line after an intentional flagrant foul followed by one more at the charity stripe to cut the lead to 11-8 before Chavlovich nailed a step-back three and a MACU layup with just under 14 minutes left, Ryan Quaid answered with a layup before an Evangels bucket on the other end. Gove found Evans under the basket on an inbound play followed by a Bonner steal and MACU foul as the senior hit two at the line, Jerrick Warren answered with a three ball from the wing followed by a WT turnover before misses on both ends before a Garrett Brockman board and dead-ball sent the teams into a media timeout with WT leading 20-15 with 11:20 left.
 
The Buffs gave the ball back with a charge but MACU gave it right back with an illegal screen before a WT miss and foul that sent the Evangels to the line as Jarrick Massenburge hit one-of-two from the line to cut the lead to 20-16, the teams traded turnovers and misses before MACU stepped on the baseline under their basket as Quaid turned that into points with a three-point play with 8:42 left. The Evangels answered with a bucket before an Eric Golightly Jr. three from the wing followed by misses on both ends to head into the under-eight minute media timeout with WT leading 26-18 with 7:09 remaining.
 
The Evangels hit two from the charity stripe after the break followed by a MACU steal-and-slam by Malcom Mann to cut the lead to 26-22 to force a WT timeout with 6:46 left and the Buffs holding a 26-22 lead, WT turned the ball over again after the break as Byron Miller hit a three from the wing before Walton stopped the WT scoring drought with a layup to run the score to 28-25. The Buffs gave the ball away again as Evangels hit two from the line followed by a MACU block but the Evangels gave the ball right back with a turnover, Antonio Ferreira knocked down a jumper followed by another MACU turnover and foul that sent the teams into the last media timeout of the half with WT leading 30-27 with 3:46 left.
 
Bonner added to the WT lead after the break with a three-point play followed by a MACU missed dunk and technical foul but WT missed the free throw and retained possession and missed from long range, the Evangels missed from deep as Gove grabbed a board that led to another Bonner bucket and Ferreira offensive board as Quaid finished under the basket to run the lead to 37-27. Massenburge knocked down a three from the wing followed by a WT foul that led to a pair of Evangels free throws with 1:47 left before a WT miss from deep and a Miller long ball from the wing, Quaid hit two from the line before a MACU offensive foul gave WT the ball as Chavlovich hit one from the corner before Miller answered from deep followed by a Chavlovich pull-up jumper right before the buzzer to send the teams into the locker room with WT leading 44-38.
 
The Buffs went 16-of-35 (45.7%) from the floor in the first half including 6-of-14 (42.9%) from long range and 6-of-8 (75%) from the free throw line to go along with 20 total rebounds (seven offensive, 13 defensive), eight fouls, nine assists, 10 turnovers, two blocks and four steals. Chavlovich went 4-of-6 from the floor including 3-of-4 from deep in the first half to lead the Buffs with 11 points followed by Bonner and Quaid with nine points each.
 
Mid-America Christian went 11-of-30 (36.7%) from the floor including 6-of-16 (37.5%) from deep and 10-of-12 (83.3%) from the charity stripe to go along with 19 rebounds (six offensive, 13 defensive), nine fouls, seven assists, nine turnovers, five blocks and seven steals in the first half. Reed went 3-of-4 from the line and 1-of-2 from deep to lead MACU with 11 points in the opening half followed by Miller with nine Massenburge with six.
 
Gerber found Bonner under the basket for the easy layup to start the second half followed by misses on both ends before the Evangels hit one-of-two from the line to cut the lead to 46-39, Bonner added to his total with another easy layup followed by a Reed jumper and WT turnover heading into a Buffs timeout with 17:14 left. The teams traded turnovers as Chavlovich went coast-to-coast with a steal-and-score followed by a MACU bucket before Evans answered on the other end of the court, MACU gave the ball right back with a double-dribble followed by a WT miss from deep and an Evangels bucket heading into the first media timeout of the half with WT leading 52-45 with 15:21 left.
 
The teams traded misses after the break before a MACU turnover led to a  Chavlovich floater in the lane followed by an Evangels free throw and bucket to cut the lead to 54-48, Gove found Evans for the turnaround layup followed by a Gove steal and Evans long ball from the wing. The Buffs got the ball right back with a MACU turnover that led to a Chavlovich three from the wing before another Evangels turnover but WT couldn't answer as they missed from long range, the teams traded misses as they headed into the under-12 minute media timeout with the Buffs leading 62-48 with 11:32 left.
 
The Evangels turned the ball over again right after the break for their 17^th give-away but WT couldn't answer with a miss before a MACU layup cut the lead to 62-50, the Buffs gave the ball away before Quaid drew a charge in the lane but WT missed again as the Evangels answered with a jumper in the paint to make the score 62-52. The teams trade turnovers again before Gove hit two one-of-two from the line followed by a MACU three from the wing and a WT miss and foul to send the teams into the under-eight minute media timeout with WT leading 63-55 with 7:29 remaining.
 
Jason Nwisienyi hit two from the line after the break followed by a WT turnover and Evangels fsat break layup to cut the lead to 63-59 before another Buffs miss and another MACU free throw with 6:54 left, the teams traded misses from deep before Evans ended the WT drought with a long ball from the wing followed by a Bonner defensive board before a WT turnover led to freebies by the Evangels to make it 66-62. WT gave the ball right back before a Quaid block led to the freshman hitting one-of-two from the line but the Buffs fouled on an Evangels layup for a three-point play with 4:11 left, Gerber grabbed an offensive rebound for a jump-ball as WT kept possession followed by a MACU foul to send the teams into the last media timeout of the game with the Buffs leading 67-65 with 3:55 left.
 
WT missed from the free throw line after the break before Walton grabbed a big defensive rebound that led to Evans knocking down one-of-two from the charity stripe to run the lead to 68-65, Bonner grabbed a big board on the other end that led to an Evans three from the corner with 2:41 left. The Evangels responded with two at the free throw line before a hold sent Bonner to the line for two freebies at 73-67 but MACU would answer again with a layup and WT foul to head into an Evangels timeout with 2:00 left and WT leading 73-69. MACU hit from the line to complete the three-point play before Chavlovich knocked down a contested three from the top of the key with 1:32 left, the Evangels answered with a long ball of their own followed by a WT turnover under the basket with 1:16 on the clock heading into a MACU timeout.
 
Chavlovich grabbed a big defensive board after the break to give WT the ball but the Buffs missed their jumper followed by a MACU turnover under the basket with 38 seconds left, Gove sealed the game with a layup on an inbound play followed by a MACU miss as the Evangels were forced to foul with 23.9 left. Evans knocked down two from the line followed by a Walton steal and Evangels foul as the sophomore hit one-of-two with 10.1 on the clock. MACU had to rush down the court as they hit a long ball followed by a WT turnover under the basket with 1.5 remaining but a MACU miss ended the game, 81-76.
 
The Buffs went 28-of-69 (40.6%) from the floor in the game including 11-of-33 (33.3%) from deep and 14-of-21 (66.7%) from the charity stripe to go along with 43 total rebounds (18 offensive, 25 defensive), 18 fouls, 17 assists, 21 turnovers, three blocks and nine steals in the game. Chavlovich and Evans led all players with 21 points each followed by Bonner with 15 and Quaid with 10.
 
Mid-America Christian shot 39% (23-of-59) from the floor including 30% (9-of-30) from long range and 80.8% (21-of-26) from the free throw line to go along with 38 rebounds (11 offensive, 27 defensive), 22 fouls, 14 assists, 20 turnovers, five blocks and 14 steals on the night. Reed went 5-of-10 from the floor including 6-of-6 from the free throw line to lead MACU with 17 points on the night followed by Miller with 14 and Chris Runnels with 13 on the night.
 
NEXT TIME OUT
The Buffs remain at home on Saturday night as the NAIA's #12 Pioneers of Wayland Baptist come to Canyon with tipoff set for 4 p.m. to conclude a non-conference doubleheader started by the #2 Lady Buffs and UT-Permian Basin at 2 p.m. at the First United Bank Center. The Buffs will wrap-up the calendar year as they head to Bayamon, Puerto Rico for three matchups against D-II Independents (Dec. 15-18) before opening up Lone Star Conference play on New Year's Eve in Canyon against Cameron (4 p.m.)