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#WTDarkHorse – Vote for Antjuan Ball in the Dark Horse Dunker Competition beginning next Wednesday, Feb. 11. Check out his highlight video here!
 
CANYON, Texas – Senior Tez Dumars of the West Texas A&M basketball team poured in 18 second-half points and 25 total to lead the charge in the Buffs' thrilling 74-68 victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday evening.  After trailing in the second half, the Buffs were energized by a dunk fest by senior Antjuan Ball, bending the rim three times and grabbing his fourth double-double of the year in the final minutes to spark a late surge for WT inside the First United Bank Center (FUBC) in Canyon, Texas. With the win, the Buffs improve to 14-9 (4-5, LSC) while the Javelinas fall to 7-14 (2-7, LSC).
 
Prior to Saturday's game, Dumars was honored at center court. In his fourth year with the Buffs, Dumars became the 18th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points. The Dallas, Texas, native did so, exactly one month ago, on Jan. 7 in Wichita Falls during a road contest against rival Midwestern State. With his 25 points tonight, just two away from tying a career-high, Dumars moves into ninth place on WT's all-time career scoring list with a total of 1,148. He passes Buffalo great Troy Burrus (1952-'54) who previously held the spot with 1,138.
 
"I might have to give Tez a commemorative ball before every game if he is going to play like that," joked WT head coach Tom Brown. "He had an excellent game tonight and worked his tail off as he always does. He does big things for us and everyone can see that."
 
Dumars would go on a tear in the second half scoring 18 of his points in the final 20 minutes. He went 7-for-10 from the floor and 10-for-11 from the charity stripe, not surprising for one who ranks in the top-40 nationally in both free-throw attempts and makes. He added five boards and three assists.
 
"I wasn't trying to do anything special tonight really besides just helping my team go out there and get a win," added Dumars. "I was fortunate enough to get a lot of good looks tonight and the shots started falling."
 
Ball's fourth double-double of the year is now his 12^th of his two-year career at WT. He finished the night with 10 points and 12 rebounds, nine being on the defensive glass, to go along with a block and a steal.
 
The Javelinas came out cold from the opening tip, missing their first five shots of the game. The opposite could be said for freshman Carl White, however. The Chicago, Ill., native put up the first two buckets of the game to give WT an early 4-0 lead, both surrounding a big stuff on the defensive end. After a few buckets by Dumars, White grabbed a few key offensive boards and ensuing free-throws. That would put the Buffs up 11-5 just passed the first media timeout.
 
Momentum would quickly change in favor of the Javelinas as Don Thomas and Will West kick started a 12-2 run with back-to-back 3-pointers. During that stretch the Buffs would go just 1-for-10 from the floor and miss their final six shots before White made a return trip back to the line for a couple free-throws. The Javelinas would sink another deep bucket on the next possession but senior Miles Gatewood immediately answered back with one of his own, sending WT into the under-eight media down 20-17.
 
Coming out of the huddle, Gatewood would turn the previous bucket into a 10-0 run for the Buffs, and for himself, as he tallied 10-straight points over the next 3:10 of the ballgame. After a jumper which followed by TAMUK on the next possession, White would grab a bucket down low followed by another dagger from beyond the arc by Gatewood to send WT out of the final media on a 17-2 run, up 30-22.
 
The Buffs closed out the half on a 19-9 streak to take the 36-26 lead into the locker room. Gatewood provided a majority of the highlights in the opening frame, leading all scorers with 15 points. White would reach double figures as well with 10 points and five boards. WT would shoot .375 from the floor, slightly better than .357 from the Javelinas.
 
TAMUK opened up the second half completely opposite of the first as it stormed to an 18-3 run, retaking a 44-39 lead over the Buffs at the under-12 media. But WT would quickly rebound taking a 9-0 run just before the under-eight media, capped off by a fast break slam dunk by Ball, fed by freshman David Chavlovich from just inside half court. That would give WT back the 52-50 lead with 8:12 remaining. During that stretch, WT would make four-consecutive baskets, two of them by Dumars who had an outstanding second half.
 
The Javelinas would cut it back within two on several occasions in the final seven minutes; however, the Buffs would put it away in the final two. Ball would put on a show for the crowd, throwing down three jams in the final 120 seconds to give the Buffs the 74-68 decision.
 
The FUBC is not the only place you may see Ball showcase his aerial prowess. Check with www.GoBuffsGo.com over the rest of next week as voting begins for the Dark Horse Dunker Competition. One of the 16 national finalists will earn the final roster spot for the State Farm College Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships on Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, Ind. Follow the link at the top of the page for more information.
 
"We give Kingsville a lot of credit tonight," added Brown. "They came out strong in the second half and put up a big challenge. We had the lead at half in double-digits and all of a sudden they are right back in it with the lead and playing confident.
 
For the third time this season, all five of WT's starters finished in double-figures. Gatewood would finish with 18 points off of 4-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc. White would finish with 10 and five rebounds while Chavlovich added 11 points.
 
As a team, the Buffs went 23-for-52 (.442) from the floor and 8-for-22 (.364) from long range. The Javelinas would go just 27-for-68 (.397) from the field and would only receive eight attempts from the line of which they made four.
 
With the victory today, WT has now won five-straight against the Javelinas and lead the all-time series, 44-23.
 
WT will return to action next Wednesday, Feb. 11, as it welcomes No. 23 Midwestern State to the FUBC in Canyon for an LSC rematch. The Buffs and Mustangs will tipoff at 7:30 p.m. from the FUBC in Canyon. Live stats and a free video webstream will be available for the contest courtesy of West Texas A&M Athletic Media Relations.