GOLDEN, Colo. – Third-seeded West Texas A&M used a blistering first half on both ends of the court in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship, posting a 76-64 victory over seventh-seeded Texas A&M-Kingsville Sunday evening at Lockridge Arena on the campus of Colorado School of Mines. The Buffs had four players in double figures in the game.

"I thought we came out and had a great first half again just like we did last night," WT head coach Tom Brown said.  "I thought our guys played with a lot of energy.  It's tough when you go on the road and play a team for the fourth time and Kingsville is a very good team and Johnny does a great job running the offense and the defense is stingy and we knew it was going to be a tough game start to finish."

WT improved to 26-8 on the year and will play in the South Central Regional final Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. CT against either top-seeded Colorado Mines or fifth-seeded Fort Lewis.  Texas A&M-Kingsville ended its season with a 19-12 record as the Buffs and Javelinas split four meetings this season.

Fans can access live stats and streaming of the game Tuesday at www.gobuffsgo.com.  The game will be broadcast on 98.7 JACK FM with Kent Johnson having the call.

The Buffs opened the game with one of their best halves of the season using a 17-3 run to start the game en route to a 44-27 lead at halftime.  In the second half, TAMUK closed the deficit to within seven, but WT answered each Javelina run with one of its own for the 12-point win. 

In 1997-98, WT advanced to its only Elite Eight in program history with wins over Pittsburg State and Central Oklahoma in Canyon.  The Buffs now are 7-15 all-time in the NCAA Championship. 

For the game, WT shot 43.8 percent on 21 of 48, while going eight of 21 from beyond the arc and 26 of 34 from the line.  The Buffs held a 41-35 lead in rebounding and a 30-22 lead in the defensive end.  Four Buffs, including three players off the bench, were in double figure as junior David Chavlovich led the way with 18 points on four of 10 from the field with three triples and a team-high seven of eight from the line.  Sophomore Ryan Quaid posted his second-straight double-double in the tournament with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while senior Joseph Prince added 11 points and senior Eric Golightly, Jr., chipped in ten points.

The Buffs "D" held TAMUK to just 36.1 percent shooting on 22 of 61.  The Javelinas were seven of 18 from beyond the arc and 13 of 20 from the line.  Trey Sumpter had a game-high 21 points, while Wright chipped in 13.  Sumpter was seven of 12 from the field with three triples and went four of five from the line with seven rebounds to lead the team.

Following the quick start by the Buffs yesterday, five early fouls started the game for the Buffs against the Javelinas through the first three minutes of the game.  However, Prince and junior Tommy Gove provided the first spark as Prince buried a triple from the top of the key for a 5-3 WT lead through the first media timeout.  Two free throws by Fort Collins, Colo., native, sophomore Ryan Quaid, gave WT a 7-3 lead as he had four points early.  Junior Jordan Evans buried a triple for a 10-3 lead and a 7-0 run by the Buffs with 14:39 left in the half.  Quaid extended the lead to 12-3 and a 9-0 run with a 12-footer following a shot clock violation and another triple from Evans as TAMUK needed a timeout, down 15-3 with 13:38 left.

"Tommy (Gove) is a competitor and got hit on what could have been on a moving screen and it woke him up and it definitely woke me up," Brown said.  "In these tournaments you have to hit or be hit.  I thought we really responded to that as we got a couple of early fouls on Skyler (O'Laughlin).  Our guys were in the fight and if you are not in the fight this time of year, there is something wrong.  We went out and executed tonight.  Ryan (Quaid) had a great game with 12 and 12 and a great effort.  We ask him to do a lot for us.  He is definitely a threat for us out there."

A triple from Wright ended the 17-0 run by the Buffs, but a triple at the other end by Prince pushed the lead to 20-6 with 11:29 left in the half.  WT opened the game seven of 11 from the field, while TAMUK was just two of 11. 

"I thought we set the tone early," Brown said.  "We moved the ball around and played great defense.  We held them to three points for a long time and we doubled them up in rebounding in the first half.  Coach Henderson did a great job with the scout and we executed.  I think that is something we have done a lot this year as our guys really buy in to what the coaches are saying as a staff.  It's been a lot of fun and a great ride as we have one more we need to finish up Tuesday."

WT, playing some of its best defense the entire season, outrebounded TAMUK 18-6 though the first 13 minutes of the game as Quaid had seven early rebounds to lead the team.  Junior David Chavlovich buried a triple from the top of the key for a 28-12 WT lead with 6:04 left in the half as the Buffs continued the strong play on both ends of the court.  Chavlovich added two free throws for a 30-12 lead, as TAMUK was one-and-done each trip on its offensive end.  Quaid scored his eighth point of the game for a 33-12 lead and a timeout by the Javelinas.  TAMUK's Marcus Frazier hit just fifth field goal for the Javelinas in the half – a triple for a 32-15 score as TAMUK was just five of 24 from the field with three triples at the 4:34 mark.

Sophomore Eric Mosley had an emphatic put back dunk for a 36-17 lead with 3:48 left followed by a turnover on TAMUK.  He then had another put back for a 38-17 advantage moments later. 

An "and one" for Thomas Diaz after a pair of offensive rebounds for the Javelinas cut the WT lead to 16 at 40-24 with 46.6 seconds left in the half.  Following a pair of free throws by WT, two more offensive boards for TAMUK led to a triple from Trey Sumpter for a 42-27 Buff lead, with 19.9 seconds left in the half.  Chavlovich had a reverse layup at the buzzer for a 44-27 lead at intermission. 

WT shot an even 50 percent for the half on 14 of 28 from the field, while going five of 11 from beyond the arc and 11 of 12 from the line.  The Buffs outrebounded TAMUK 28-14 and 20-7 on the defensive end as Chavlovich, who didn't start the game due to being ill, had ten points to lead the team on two of four from the field, with one triple and five of six from the line.  Quaid had eight points and a game-high nine rebounds. 

The Buffs held TAMUK to eight of 32 from the field, as the Javelinas buried four triples and went seven of 11 from the line.  Sumpter had a team-high nine points TAMUK. 

TAMUK scored six of the first seven points of the second half, pulling within 45-33 with 16:35 left in regulation as the Buffs opened the half missing their first three shots.  Frazier scored on a drive as TAMUK extended its run to 8-2 to open the half for a 46-35 WT lead with 15:36 left. 

Sophomore Carl White buried a triple and the first field goal of the half for WT for a 49-35 lead out of a media timeout.  Chavlovich, off an inbounds pass in the corner, hit a contested triple for a 53-37 lead as the Buffs stretched lead back out to 16.  Out of a timeout, senior Eric Golightly, Jr., scored the "and one" for a 55-37 lead with 13:12 left.  Prince found Golightly with a no-look pass as the shot clock was winding down stretching the lead to 19 at 57-38 for an 11-3 run since the 15:36 mark. 

Following two turnovers by the Buffs, TAMUK scored two quick buckets pulling back within 12 at 57-45 with 10:38 left.  Sumpter hit a triple as TAMUK cut the deficit to nine at 57-48 with 9:12 left using a 10-0 run.  After a timeout by WT, a turnover and a bucket by the Javelinas stretched the run to 12-0 and a 57-50 score. 

Prince ended the run with two free throws, as WT had not hit a field goal since the 12:30 mark.  A turnover by the Javelinas and a hard foul on White sent him to the line as the Buffs led 59-50 with 7:41 left.  White made the two freebies for a 61-50 lead out of the third media timeout.  Quaid was fouled getting his 10^th rebound and hit two free throws at the other end for his second-straight double-double in the regional with 11 points and ten rebounds to that point. 

"This was a team effort," Prince said.  "I think the preparation for this game was phenomenal as each member of the coaching staff prepared us well this morning and we all knew what we were doing and we were clicking.  The start was great and we picked it up and got a great run."

Justin Jones buried a triple – his first points of the game, cutting the deficit back to ten with seven minutes left at 63-53.  Following two free throws from Chavlovich, he earned the charge at the other end leading to a timeout by the Javelinas with WT leading 65-53 and 6:26 on the clock.

Golightly earned the "and one" on a great driving pass from Chavlovich for a 72-58 lead with 3:13 left.  Golightly found White for a dunk and a 74-62 lead with 90 seconds left and the 76-64 final margin.