CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M led by eight points with 7:25 left before the Buffs connected from behind the arc on three straight possessions as they pulled away for good in a 78-61 victory over the #10 Texans of Tarleton State in front of over 1,800 fans at the First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas. The Buffs improve to 15-7 (4-3 LSC) on the season while the Texans fall to 14-4 (4-2 LSC) with the loss.
 
The Texans turned the ball over on their first possession but WT gave it right back with a turnover of their own followed by missed on both ends before a Michael Hardge fast break layup at 2-0, WT got on the board with a David Chavlovich three from the wing followed by a TSU offensive foul but the Buffs gave it back with a turnover. Tarleton took the lead with a bucket followed by turnovers on both ends before Jordan Evans knocked down a three from the wing at 6-4 heading into a media timeout with 15:55 left.
 
Jerrod Walton added to the WT lead with a bucket followed by an illegal screen call on the Texans but WT couldn't convert as they missed a jumper, the teams traded misses from deep followed by a Tommy Gove steal that led to two Eric Golightly Jr. free throws at 10-4. Charles Hill stopped the TSU drought with a bucket followed by a Hill steal-and-score at 10-8, WT missed two free throws but a Chavlovich offensive rebound led to Ryan Quaid hitting two at the line. The teams traded misses followed by a Nosa Ebomwonyi floater in the lane heading into a media timeout with WT leading 12-10 with 11:51 left.
 
The Buffs gave the ball back with a shot clock violation after the break before Chantz Chambers hit a three from the corner to give TSU the 13-12 lead, Garrett Brockman found Quaid for a bucket followed by a TSU miss and a Joseph Prince bucket at 16-13. Hardge found Malcolm Hamilton for an easy layup followed by a WT miss but Brockman gave the ball back to the Buffs with a steal that led to an Evans long ball at 19-15, Hamilton registered a board and score before Evans answered with a bucket followed by a TSU miss from deep that turned into Quaid hitting one-of-two at the line heading into a media timeout with 7:21 left and WT leading 22-17.
 
Hill knocked down a baseline jumper on an inbound play after the break followed by misses on both ends before WT gave the ball away with an illegal screen, Tarleton missed the front end of a one-and-one before WT gave it back with a charge. Hamilton made one freebie followed by a WT miss under the basket before a TSU miss led to Walton hitting two at the line to make it 24-20, the teams traded misses before Deshawn Riddick hit two at the line followed by a Prince layup and a TSU miss from deep heading into the last media timeout of the half with WT leading 26-22 with 3:13 left.
 
Walton found Chavlovich for an easy layup on the inbound play after the break followed by a Tarleton shot-clock violation, Chavlovich hit two at the free throw line followed by a jumper by Hill at 30-24. Hardge hit one-of-two at the charity stripe followed by a TSU foul that sent Evans to the line as the sophomore hit both, Tarleton missed from deep as Evans turned it into points with a three from the top of the key before Hardge finished with a layup heading into the locker room with WT leading 35-27.
 
The Buffs went 10-of-29 (34.5%) from the floor including 4-of-7 (57.1%) from long range and 11-of-15 (73.3%) from the charity stripe to go along with 24 rebounds (10 offensive, eight defensive), 12 fouls, six assists, six turnovers, one block and three steals. Evans went 4-of-5 from the floor and 3-of-3 from behind the arc to lead all players at the break with 13 points followed by Chavlovich with seven.
 
Tarleton went 11-of-31 (35.5%) from the floor in the first half including 1-of-13 (7.7%) from deep and 4-of-8 (50%) from the free throw line to go along with 20 rebounds (nine offensive, 11 defensive), 11 fouls, four assists, eight turnovers, five blocks and one steal. Hill went 4-of-11 from the field in the first half to lead the Texans with eight points followed by Hardge and Hamilton with five each.
 
The Texans missed on their first attempt of the second half but WT gave the ball right back with a turnover but TSU committed an illegal screen to give the ball back to the Buffs, WT missed on their end of the floor followed by a Tarleton turnover but another WT miss led to a Hardge three from the wing at 35-30. Chambers connected on a floater in the lane followed by two free throws by Evans before Hardge hit a jumper, Chavlovich answered with a floater in the lane heading into a media timeout with 15:17 left and WT leading 39-34.
 
The Buffs gave the ball back right after the break with a charge that led to a Hill baseline jumper followed by a Hamilton steal and score to cut the lead to 39-38, Walton found Quaid for an easy slam followed by misses on both ends followed by a Hill bucket before Evans hit a three heading into a timeout with 12:51 left. Hardge hit two free throws following a WT flagrant foul before the Texans gave the ball back with an offensive foul, Evans hit two at the line following a Tarleton foul before a TSU rejection that led to a Hill jumper at 46-44. The foul sent Tarleton's EJ Reed to the bench with his fifth foul as the Buffs held the LSC's second leading rebounder (8.6/game) and second leading scorer (19.2/game) to no points and one rebound.
 
Evans hit two more at the line followed by a TSU miss and another Texan rejection to give the ball back to Tarleton, the Texans missed again as Chavlovich hit two freebies at 50-44 followed by Hardge hitting one-of-two at the line. Quaid hit two free throws followed by a TSU miss that turned into a Walton fast break layup with a foul for a three-point play at 55-45, Xavier Smith answered with a three from the top of the key followed by a TSU rejection and Hamilton fast break layup at 55-50. Walton hit one-of-two at the line followed by an Evans steal under the basket heading into a media timeout with WT leading 56-50 with 7:45 left.
 
Quaid hit one-of-two at the line after the break followed by a Tarleton miss and foul as Quaid hit another freebie at 58-50, the Texans missed a jumper that led to an Evans transition three from the wing as the First United Bank Center crowd exploded. Riddick answered with a bucket followed by a WT offensive foul but Tarleton couldn't convert as Chavlovich hit a three to run the lead to 64-52, TSU missed from deep and Evans hit another long ball to force a TSU timeout with WT leading 67-52 with 5:20 left. Hill hit two free throws after the break followed by turnovers on both ends before Walton connected on a bucket in the lane at 69-54, Tarleton missed from deep and committed a foul under the basket to head into the last media timeout of the game with 3:27 left.
 
Evans hit two more from the line to register his new career high with 30 points followed by a TSU bucket and a Gove free throw at 72-56, Tarleton missed from deep again as Walton hit two freebies followed by a TSU turnover as they failed to inbound the ball with 2:31 left. Chavlovich added to his total with a jumper in the lane followed by Hardge hitting one at the line, WT missed under the basket followed by a Damstra board and score at 76-59 as WT used the opportunity to get their starters a standing ovation from the crowd. Prince knocked down a jumper followed by a Riddick bucket with just under a minute left, WT missed a jumper followed by a Chandler Fuzak rebound to give WT the 78-61 win.
 
The Buffs went 20-of-51 (39.2%) from the floor in game including 8-of-13 (61.5%) from deep and 30-of-38 (78.9%) from the charity stripe to go along with 44 total rebounds (12 offensive, 32 defensive), 22 fouls, 12 assists, 14 turnovers, one block and five steals. Evans went 7-of-8 from the floor including 6-of-6 from behind the arc to lead all players with a career high 30 points followed by Chavlovich (16), Walton (12) and Quaid (11).
 
Tarleton State went 24-of-67 (35.8%) from the floor including 3-of-24 (12.5%) from deep and 10-of-16 (35.8%) from the charity stripe to go along with 39 rebounds (16 offensive, 23 defensive), 30 fouls, eight assists, 15 turnovers, nine blocks and six steals. Hill went 7-of-20 from the floor and 0-of-5 from deep to lead the Texans with 16 points followed by Hardge with 14.
 
NEXT TIME OUT
The Buffs return to the friendly confines of the First United Bank Center on Tuesday night as they play their final non-conference game of the season against the Eagles of Southwestern Christian with tipoff set for 6 p.m. in Canyon.