GUNNISON, Colo. – #4 West Texas A&M outscored Western State by 12 points in the second half but it wasn't enough to overcome a 17-point halftime deficit as the Buffs lost 77-72 to the Mountaineers on Friday night at Paul Wright Gym. Ryan Quaid had a team-high 17 points to go along with 18 rebounds, marking the second time in four games he has recorded that stat line.

THE BASICS
The Matchup: Western State 77, West Texas A&M 72
Records: Western State (1-0), West Texas A&M (3-1)
Venue: Paul Wright Gym
Location: Gunnison, Colo.

WT struck first on a three-pointer from Qua Grant after an offensive rebound by Eric Mosley on a missed jumper on the first possession of the game. Western would responded with a three of their own from Quincy Harding to tie the game at 19:19 followed by a three minute scoreless drought by both teams. Quaid ended the drought with his first bucket of the game on a layup that was immediately followed by a layup by the Mountaineers. Quaid would score the next three points for the Buffs with a free throw and layup to give WT an 8-5 lead with 15:01 remaining in the first half. WSC would go on a 11-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 16-8 lead.

Grant would get his second bucket of the game on a steal to bring the visitors within six ending the run by the Mountaineers. The teams would trade baskets before WSC went on another run, 6-0, to make it a 12-point deficit with less than 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Jumpers from Quaid and Eric Mosley kept WT close before Joel Murray's layup at 7:35 made it 26-19. That would be the closest the Buffs would get as the Mountaineers would outscore them 20-10 over the final seven minutes to head into halftime with a 46-29 lead.

Gach Gach got the Buffs on the board 12 seconds into the second half with a jumper followed by a three-pointer from Murray on the next possession to cut the deficit to 12 points, 46-34. A pair of Quaid free throws combined with a fast break three-pointer from Jordan Collins cut the lead to single digits, 50-41, with a little under 17 minutes. WSC's Harding would get to the rim for a layup followed by an easy basket from Quaid with Murray going 1-of-2 from the charity stripe a minute later. The teams continued to trade baskets until Drew Evans' layup at 12:53 sparked a 6-0 run to make it 59-56. Grant continued the run with a steal and easy layup followed by scores from Murray and Hall.

A pair of free throws from Subart restored the Mountaineers five-point lead but that was short lived as Murray beat the defense down the floor for a layup with Gach hitting his first three of the contest to tie it at 59-all with 10:35 remaining. The game would remain tied until WT took their first lead since 13:55 remaining in the first half on a layup from Hall. Three free throws from Monroe Porter combined with a layup from Harding helped the home team retake the lead at 66-63.

Quaid went 2-of-2 from the free throw line with under six minutes remaining but WT was unable to get a stop on WSC's next possession as the deficit remained at three. Murray tied the game for the second time of the half when he connected from beyond the arc at 5:28. A minute later, Hall came up with a steal that resulted in another layup the gave WT a 70-69 lead that was short lived as WSC scored eight seconds later to retake the lead. Neither team could get a shot to fall over the next three minutes as the Buffs trailed by three heading into the final minute of regulation. Hall and Gach would both have looks from beyond the arc but couldn't get them to fall as the Buffs fell 77-72 to the Mountaineers.

WT finished the game 28-of-70 (40.0%) from the floor including 5-of-30 (16.7%) from three-point range and 11-of-18 (61.1%) from the charity stripe. Quaid finished with his second double-double of the season and 25th of his career with 17 points going 6-of-13 from the floor while pulling down 18 rebounds. Joel Murray chipped in a career-high 15 points with Qua Grant reaching double figures for the third straight game with 11.

The Buffs have a quick turnaround with a game against Adams State on Saturday, Nov. 10, in Alamosa, Colo. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT.