GAME NOTES
CANYON, Texas – #4 West Texas A&M heads to Colorado for a pair of games this weekend against Western State and Adams State. The Buffs will face off against the Mountaineers at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9, in Gunnison, Colo. before traveling to Alamosa, Colo. to face the Grizzlies on Saturday, Nov. 10, at 8 p.m.
A LOOK BACK AT THE WEEKEND
The Buffs opened the season a perfect 3-0 for the third consecutive season under head coach Tom Brown with wins over Drury, Lindenwood and Concordia-Irvine this past weekend at the D2CCA TipOff Classic in Orange, Calif. WT averaged 66.0 points per game in the three wins while going 66-of-174 (.379) from the floor while shooting 21-of-89 (.236) from three-point range and 45-of-57 (.789) from the charity stripe. They also outrebounded their opponents 115-111.
WT needed overtime to fend off Drury, 68-62, in the season opener as Ryan Quaid scored a game-high 17 points while pulling down 18 rebounds for his 24th double-double of his career. Gach Gach also had a double-double (third career) with 12 points and 11 rebounds. As a team, WT would shoot 20-of-63 (.317) from the floor, 9-of-37 (24.3%) from beyond the arc and 19-of-25 (.760) from the free throw line.
After trailing by seven points at half time, WT rallied to beat Lindenwood, 65-62, in the second game of the year. Freshman Qua Grant was the Buffs leading scorer with 17 points going 7-of-12 from the floor while pulling down team-high eight rebounds. Joel Murray (12 pts.), Jordan Collins (11 pts.) and Gach Gach (10 pts.) all reach double figures in the win.
Grant was once again the leading scorer for the Buffs as they defeated Concordia-Irvine 65-57 on Sunday. The Waxahachie, Texas native scored a team-high 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and six rebounds while Quaid reached double-figures for the second time of the season with 12 points and five rebounds. Murray had a season-high seven assists to go along with nine points.
WT HEAD COACH TOM BROWN
Fifth-year head coach Tom Brown is one win shy of 100 for his head coaching career at West Texas A&M. He enters the weekend 99-35 for a .739 win percentage which is the fourth-best in program history. The 2017-18 Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year would become the sixth coach in program history to eclipse the 100 win mark in a career. Since finishing 17-12 in 2014-15, the Buffs have won more than 20 games in four straight seasons including a program-best 32 last season.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Through three games, the Buffs are holding opposing teams to a .273 shooting percentage on shots beyond the arc. Their 45 three-pointers are 16 more than opposing teams have made so far this season.
WT has four players averaging 10 or more points this season led by senior Ryan Quaid with 12.0 points per game. Qua Grant ranks second with 11.7 points per game while Joel Murray and Gach Gach average 10.0 points per contest.
The Buffs have been a strong second half team so far this season outscoring opponents 94-80 in the final 20 minutes of regulation. They have twice trailed at halftime and come back and won.
A LOOK AT WESTERN STATE
Western State opens the 2018-19 season looking to build on a 13-16 last season where they made the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time since 2011.12 Quincy Harding returns after averaging 14.2 points per game as a junior where he scored in double figures all but nine games including a 37-point outburst against UC-Colorado Springs.
The Mountaineers picked up an impressive 20-point victory over Division I Air Force in an exhibition in Colorado Springs, Colo. on Nov. 1. Western lead for 38:14 of the games 40 minutes while shooting 51.7 percent from three-point range. Three players scored a team-high 15 points including Harding, Monroe Porter and Brady Subart while Jackson Ehrlin chipped in 10 of his own.
Brad Schafer enters his fifth season as the head coach with a record of 30-79. This past season, he led Western to 13 wins which was the most wins since the 2011-12 season with three players earning All-RMAC honors.
LAST TIME VS. WESTERN STATE
WT defeated the Mountaineers 83-63 at the First United Bank Center on Nov. 11, 2017 led by the game-high 25 points from Jordan Evans. David Chavlovich added 21 points going a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe as the Buffs defeated WSC for the first time since 2007. Ryan Quaid also had a big night with 17 points and nine rebounds.
A LOOK AT ADAMS STATE
Fourth-year head coach Russ Caton has what looks like a brand new team in 2018-19 as Szymon Walczak is the only returner from a team that finished 17-13 in 2017-18.
The Grizzlies defeated Colorado College, 87-77, in an exhibition on Nov. 1 in Alamosa, Colo.Szymon Walczak was the leading scorer for ASU with 19 points shooting 8-of-15 from the floor in 27 minutes. Shemar Johnson had 16 points while John Dewey was also in double figures with 15.
LAST TIME VS. ADAMS STATE
The two teams played twice during the 2017-18 season with WT taking both games including a 92-88 thriller in Pueblo, Colo. on Nov. 17 as part of the Al-Kaly Shrine Classic. It was David Chavlovich's night as the senior scored 40 points going 13-of-18 from the floor, 6-of-9 from three and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. It was the fourth-most points scored in a game in program history.
LSC PRESEASON POLL
The defending Lone Star Conference Champion Buffs of West Texas A&M were picked to finish second in the league's preseason poll announced on Wednesday, Oct. 24, during the LSC Basketball Online Media Day. The preseason poll was voted on by head coaches, sports information directors and media representatives from throughout the league.
Texas A&M-Commerce picked up 15 of the possible 28 first place votes for a total of 254 points followed by West Texas with 11 first place votes for a total of 238 points. Tarleton was picked fourth with 236 points followed by Angelo State (185 pts.) and UT Permian Basin (165 pts.) who also received two first-place votes. MSU Texas was sixth (149 pts.) with Eastern New Mexico (102 pts.) in seventh with Cameron (87 pts.), Texas A&M-Kingsville (86 pts.) and Western New Mexico (42 pts.) rounding out the Top 10. Reggie Reid of Texas A&M-Commerce was picked as the Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 16.3 points and 4.2 assists per game in 2017-18 as a junior.
LIVE COVERAGE
Live stats and video will be provided for both games this weekend. Links can be found at GoBuffsGo.com under the men's basketball schedule page. Also follow the Buffs on Twitter (@WestTXD2Hoops) for live updates.
