CANYON, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville football team raced out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter over West Texas A&M Saturday evening for Homecoming 2016, but despite a valiant Buff comeback, the Javelinas posted a 51-34 win as WT fell to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in Lone Star Conference play, while TAMUK improved to 3-3 and 1-3 in league play.

Minus the first quarter, the Buffs outscored TAMUK 34-31 in the second through fourth quarters, but three costly turnovers helped TAMUK to a 20-7 advantage in points off turnovers.  WT sophomore Ben Arbuckle threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns as he came in relief of injured junior quarterback Ethan Brinkley.  Arbuckle was 18 of 32 with two interceptions in his most significant work of his WT career.  Senior Devon Paye rushed for 86 yards on 16 carries and had two receptions for 95 yards and a score.  The Buffs had two receivers over 100 yards for the first time since 2014 as senior Junior Pomee had a game-high 115 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Chris Gilchrist added 108 yards and a score.

As a team, the Buffs tallied a season-high 510 yards of offense on 476 yards passing and just 34 yards rushing.  In the last two games, the Buffs have tallied just 81 yards on the ground. The team was 25 of 49 with three interceptions and really struggled on third down going just 6 of 15 and 1 of 4 on fourth down.  Defensively, redshirt freshman Hayden Dennis led the way with 13 total tackles and one tackle for loss.  WT tallied 2.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss.

TAMUK, who won its first Lone Star Conference game in 22 tries dating back to Nov. 10, 2012, was led by Greg Pitre who had 21 carries for 130 yards and one touchdown, while Nick Pelrean added 109 yards on 20 carries with two scores, marking the second-straight game the opponents have had two rushers over 100 yards.  Quarterback Myles Carr was 10 of 19 for 155 yards and two scores.

Defensively, TAMUK tallied 9.5 sacks for 54 yards and 14 tackles for loss for 66 yards with three interceptions for 88 yards and a score.  Brandon Jones had six tackles with four sacks and six tackles for loss, while Braedon Robinson added five tackles with two sacks and two tackles for loss.  The Javelinas had 445 yards of offense in the game with 267 on the ground and 178 through the air and was an impressive 10 of 17 on third down to extend drives. 

After both teams has the ball once and had to punt, the Javelinas blocked the WT punt as Josh Bowman got his hand on the ball.  On a 3^rd and three, Pitre got a first down to the 13 and then scored from 13 yards out for an early 7-0 lead.

On the ensuing WT possession, Brinkley's pass was tipped and picked off by DeMarcus Spurlock setting the Javelinas up at the WT 38 for the second-straight possession in WT territory.  On a 3^rd and 13 from the WT 26, Carr found Jacob Armstrong behind the WT for a 26-yard score and a 13-0 lead as TAMUK muffed the snap on the PAT with 9:37 left in the first quarter.

The Javelinas converted a third and long for their fifth conversion in six tries and Carr found Anthony Autry for a 32-yard touchdown pass for his second touchdown and a 20-0 lead with 3:31 left in the first quarter.  WT had just one first down (to nine for TAMUK) and was 0 of 2 on third down to that point. 

Midway through the second quarter, sophomore Chase Mardis came up with a big nine-yard sack on Carr forcing a 3^rd and 17 from the WT 17 with 9:21 left in the first half.  Carr's pass to the end zone was a bit long as TAMUK settled for a 34-yard field goal from Julio De la Garza for a 23-0 lead with 9:09 left in the half.  It was the biggest deficit for the Buffs to that point this season as TAMUK used a 14 play drive, for 6:29 off the clock for 61 yards.

Brinkley found Gilchrist for a 44-yard catch and run to the TAMUK 10 and then Brinkley then hooked up with Gilchrist again as the Buffs got on the board with a 13-yard score and a 23-7 TAMUK lead with 4:17 left in the half.  Gilchrist had two catches for 57 yards on the drive.  It a seven play, 80-yard drive by the Buffs using 2:06 on the clock.

After a punt by the Javelinas, Brinkley was hit hard for the fourth time in the game by the Javelinas after the pass and was injured.  Arbuckle entered the game behind center for his first action since late in the game at UT Permian Basin on Sept. 19.  Arbuckle's first pass was intercepted by Jarrod Sanders and a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct moved the ball back to the WT 23.  From there, Carr passed behind the line of scrimmage to Ty Chisum as he found Stehly Reden behind the WT defense for a 23-yard touchdown pass and a 30-7 score with 1:40 left in the half.

For the half, the Buffs had just six first downs and 138 yards of offense as WT had 14 rushes for six yards and 132 yards passing on 8 of 18 with two interceptions.  Senior Devon Paye had seven carries for 27 yards, while Brinkley went 7 of 16 for 122 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while Arbuckle was 1 of 2 with one interception and 10 yards.

TAMUK had 246 yards of offense with 134 yards rushing and 112 passing.  Carr went 6 of 12 for 89 yards and two scores, while Pitre had 21 rushes for 130 yards and a score.  TAMUK was 7 of 11 on third down in the half, while WT was just 2 of 6. 

Entering the game, these were two of the top passing teams in the league as WT was second at 298.2 yards per game and TAMUK was fifth at 252.0.  They were the top two teams in defensive passing efficiency in the league and the teams were third in the league in with 100 first downs each.  WT entered the game 26^th nationally in 3^rd down conversion percentage at 0.473, while TAMUK was fifth in the league at 0.375.

Since the second half of last week's game at Eastern New Mexico, the Buffs had been outscored 55-9 and WT committed six turnovers during that span. 

Arbuckle got the Buffs to the 50 on a 27-yard pass to junior Riley Smith on the first pass of the second half.  WT had a 4^th and 3 from the TAMUK 43 as Arbuckle found redshirt freshman Trent Canion for a first down at the TAMUK 40.  Arbuckle's pass was intercepted by Kuziah Ferebee at the TAMUK 30 and returned 70 yards for a touchdown and a 37-7 TAMUK lead with 11:45 left in the third quarter.  It was the first pick-six by the opposition since Xavier Murray (40) at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Nov. 9, 2015.

Reden caught a 51-yard pass from Carr after the Buffs turned it over on downs as Pelrean scored from seven yards out for a 44-7 score with 6:44 left in the third quarter.

Arbuckle found Paye out of the backfield for a 74-yard touchdown pass and a 44-14 TAMUK lead with 6:01 left in the third quarter.  It marked the longest reception of the season for the Buffs.  He found Smith for a 33-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter as WT pulled within 44-21 with 13:43 left.  On the next WT possession, Arbuckle hooked up with Pomee for a 48-yard touchdown and a 44-28 score.  It was Arbuckle's third touchdown strike of the game.

The Buffs forced TAMUK into a punt on its next possession as the Buffs needed two scores with two, two-point conversions to tie with just 5:24 left.  On a 3^rd and 10 from the WT 20, Arbuckle found Pomee over the middle for a 27-yard gain and a first down at the WT 47.   WT went over 400 yards passing for the first time this season.  Arbuckle then found Gilchrist streaking down the sideline for 51 yards to the TAMUK two.  He threw his fourth touchdown to Pomee for a touchdown as the Buffs went for two but were unsuccessful. 

TAMUK had a 3^rd and five at the WT 34, but Pelrean was stopped short of the line to gain as WT called its final timeout with 2:43 left.  The Javelinas went for it on 4^th and three and Pelrean was short as the Buffs regained the ball with 2:36 left. 

Four incomplete passes turned the ball back over to TAMUK with 2:12 left as the Javelinas sealed the win.

Pelrean scampered 25 yards for a score and a 51-34 score with 2:06 left.  It was the first time WT had allowed 50 points since a 90-57 win at McMurry Oct. 26, 2013.  It also marked the second-straight game in the series with TAMUK the winning team scored 50 or more points.  WT won 51-45 at Kimbrough in the season finale in 2015.

WT dropped its second-straight Homecoming Game after winning the previous 10.  The Buffs fell to 43-28-2 all-time on Homecoming.

The Buffs return to the road next Saturday at 1 p.m. at Oklahoma Panhandle State for the second year in a row.  The game will be broadcast on 98.7 Jack FM with Lucas Kinsey, Brice Sheets and Kent Johnson having the call.  Check back with www.gobuffsgo.com for links to live stats, ticket information and streaming links for the game.