CANYON, Texas – Gach Gach scored 24 of his career-high 31 points in the first half as the #8 West Texas A&M opened Lone Star Conference play with a 91-79 victory over Cameron on Thursday night in front of 1,077 fans at the First United Bank Center. The senior's eight three pointers are the third-most in a single game in program history and most by a Buff since David Chavlovich made eight on January 2, 2015 against Oklahoma City.
THE BASICS
The Matchup: #8 West Texas A&M 91, Cameron 79
Records: #8 West Texas A&M (9-1), Cameron (2-5)
Venue: First United Bank Center
Location: Canyon, Texas
Both teams got off to a strong start as WT trailed 10-8 at the first media timeout of the contest. CU's Tyus Momoh nailed a three on the first possession followed by a layup from Jordan Lewis before Gach hit his first three of the evening to get WT on the scoreboard. He would hit another on the next trip down the floor following a Qua Grant steal. CU would respond with a five straight points before Ryan Quaid scored for the first time with a learner in the paint.
The visitors would respond with five straight points to make it 16-8 with just over 15 minutes remaining before Grant hit his second shot of the game. Derrick Geddis would get his name on the scoresheet on a layup after an offensive rebound on an Eric Mosley's missed three. Following a Zach Dumas free throw, Mosley would be on the mark with a driving layup followed by a Jalen Nicholas jumper in the paint. Brandon Hall would connect on his first three of the game from the top of the arc.
Quaid went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to get the Buffs within two, 18-20, before Gach connected on another three to give WT their first lead of the game. The Aggies would retake the lead on a Dumas jumper but WT responded with Gach's fourth three of the game. The teams continued to exchange baskets for the lead until 3:55 left when Jordan Collins came off a screen to down his first three of the game. On the following possession, Gach would make three free throws to push the Buffs lead to seven points, 43-46. After trading three pointers, Gach would make his seventh three of the first half to extend the lead to double digits with under two minutes remaining before halftime.
Joel Murray would open the second half with a driving layup in the paint followed by a dunk from Quaid on an impressive pass from the freshman guard. Dumas continued to cause the Buffs trouble scoring five straight points to cut the lead to single digits but Quaid would score another easy bucket under the basket followed by a three from the corner from Grant to make it 61-47. CU went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to eight before Quaid converted a hook shot after a nice post move followed by a fastbreak layup from Mosley.
The Buffs lead would reach as high as 13 with a little more than 10 minutes remaining on an Evans three from the top of the WT logo. It was 74-61 in favor of WT when the Aggies went on a 6-0 run spearheaded by a pair of layups from Johann Tate before the Buffs countered with free throws with Murray and Gach. Another CU run made it 79-74 game with under four minute remaining before WT finished the game on an 11-5 run. Quaid converted the old-fashioned three-point play followed by a three from Gach from the left sde with Grant beating the defensive down the floor for a layup. Murray would score the final points of the game on a pair of free throws as the Buffs won their fifth straight game over the Aggies.
WT finished the game shooting 30-of-67 (44.8%) from the floor, 14-of-44 (31.8%) from beyond the arc and 17-of-23 (73.9%) from the free throw line with 33 rebounds, 19 assists, seven steals and two blocks. Gach bested his career-high by 10 points scoring 31 going 8-of-16 from three while pulling down seven rebounds. Quaid contributed 16 points and seven rebounds with Joel Murray and Qua Grant also reaching double figures.
UP NEXT
West Texas A&M finishes its six-game home stand on Saturday, Dec. 1, 1 at 4 p.m. when they host MSU Texas.
