LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Brandon Hall tied a career-high with six three-pointers as #13 West Texas A&M overcame a 16-point first half deficit to defeat Pittsburg State 93-80 late Tuesday night at the Las Vegas Hoopla. Hall was one of five Buffs in double figures as the WT outscored the Gorillas 51-33 in the second half to improve to 12-2 on the season and 5-0 in neutral site games this season.
THE BASICS
The Matchup: #13 West Texas A&M 93, Pittsburg State 80
Records: #13 West Texas A&M (12-2), Pittsburg State (8-2)
Venue: Centennial Hills Community Center
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
After trailing by 16 points with less than 10 minutes remaining before half time, WT responded with a 15-6 run over the final 6:11 to trail 47-42 at halftime. Hall hit two of his six three pointers during the run while Eric Mosley was spot on from deep as well. Ryan Quaid added four points, all coming in the paint, as the senior had 10 points at the break.
After seeing the Gorillas stretch the lead back to eight with two minutes gone in the second half, WT responded with a 10-0 run to retake the lead for the first time since 17:55 in the first half. Quaid did most of the damage on the run with an old-fashioned three-point play followed with a nice post move with Qua Grant nailing a three from the corner to make it 54-52.
Hall continued to dominant his old MIAA rivals with a four-point play at 9:13 to give WT a 69-68 lead but the Gorillas responded with a three of their own to tie the game at 71-all with under eight minutes remaining. Joel Murray hit his only three of the evening on the following possession to help WT retake the lead for good as they outscored PSU 22-9 over the final 7:29 for a comfortable 13-point victory. The freshman guard scored eight of his 15 points in crunch time including going 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.
WT finished the contest 30-of-57 (52.6%) from the floor, 14-of-29 (48.3%) from three-point range and 19-of-31 (61.3%) from the free throw line while pulling down 42 rebounds, 16 assists ,13 turnovers, five steals and three blocks. Hall finished the game with 23 points going 8-of-13 from the floor to go along with a career-high nine assists. Quaid had another big game down in the paint with 17 points and eight rebounds with freshman Grant and Murray both chipping in 15 points each. Gach Gach added 11 points as all five starters reached double digits in scoring for the second time in two days.
UP NEXT
West Texas A&M returns to the friendly confines of the First United Bank Center on Saturday, Dec. 29, when they host Central Baptist at 2 p.m.
