CANYON, Texas – With 11:29 remaining in the second half, senior Ryan Quaid pulled down his seventh rebound of the contest giving him 791 for his career breaking Reggie Ramey's program record for career rebounds. The Fort Collins, Colo native also scored a game-high 22 points as #8 West Texas A&M defeated Central Oklahoma 66-62 in their final game of the Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic at the First United Bank Center.
Quaid was also named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament while teammates Brandon Halll and Gach Gach, along with Lubbock Christian Brennan Fowler and UCO's Adarius Avery also earned All-Tournament honors.
THE BASICS
The Matchup: #8 West Texas A&M 66, Central Oklahoma 62
Records: #8 West Texas A&M (8-1), Central Oklahoma (4-2)
Venue: First United Bank Center
Location: Canyon, Texas
West Texas A&M jumped out to an early 9-0 lead in the first three minute with Quaid doing all of the scoring for the Buffs. After grabbing a defensive rebound, he was rewarded with a layup on the other end of the floor followed by another bucket in the paint on the next possession down. He would connect on a three following a defensive rebound before Adarius Avery scored UCO's opening basket of the game at 16:35.
Neither team would score for the next four minutes before Qua Grant hit a jumper at 12:45 to make it 11-2. The lead would reach as high as 15, 17-2, following threes from Jordan Collins and Brandon Hall on consecutive possessions with under 10 minutes remaining in the first half. UCO would respond with a 9-0 run of their own WT went 0-of-5 from the field while the Bronchos were able to get open looks.
Murray would end the Broncho run with a jumper in the paint followed by a pair of jumpers from Hall to restore the 12-point advantage, 23-11, heading into the media timeout. UCO would then score nine straight points for the second time of the half spearheaded by a pair of threes from Jordan Hamphill to get the visitors within three, 23-20. That would be the closest they would get before halftime as Quaid made a jumper followed by an acrobatic finish by Eric Mosley at the rim.
WT's first bucket of the second half would come nearly three minutes into the final period on a layup from Murray to end a Bronchos 4-0 run to make it 29-24. That would be their last make in over three minutes as UCO got within two before Collins connected on the right wing for another three. Following another Avery runner in the lane, Quaid would find a wide-open Derrick Geddis under the hoop for a layup followed up by a hookshot from the senior near the rim. Geddis second layup in as many minutes would restore the Buffs 10-point lead, 44-34, with 11:24 remaining in the ballgame.
Quaid scored the Buffs only four points over the next three minutes as the Bronchos got within two, 48-46, on a layup from Golden Ashford. Collins came up big again with a three from the WT logo but the Buffs were unable to get a stop on the next possession as Avery converted another driving layup. After missing the front end of a one-and-one, UCO tie the game with a three on the next possession. Gach would connect on a jumper for the lead that was short lived as Avery was good from inside the paint again. The teams would remained deadlocked as each team made a three with less than four minutes remaining.
With the game tied at 56-56 with under three minutes remaining, WT would go 3-of-5 from the charity stripe before Quaid absorbed contact at the rim for an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 62-56. UCO would get the lead down to two points, 62-60, with less than 20 seconds remaining after a WT turnover on an inbound play but Quaid and Collins were a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to seal the Buffs 13th straight win at home.
WT finished the game shooting 25-of-61 (41.0%) from the floor, 6-of-25 (24.0%) from three point range and 10-of-14 (71.4%) from the charity stripe with 36 rebounds, 11 assists, three steals and two blocks. Quaid's 21 points mark the third time the senior has scored over 20 points this season to go along with a team-high seven rebounds. Collins also reached double figures with 12 points going a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
UP NEXT
West Texas A&M opens Lone Star Conference play on Thursday, Nov. 29, when they host Cameron at the First United Bank Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
