CANYON, Texas – #13 West Texas A&M finished the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 77-63 victory over Central Baptist College on Saturday afternoon at the First United Bank Center in front of 654 fans. Gach Gach was one of three Buffs in double figures with a game-high 17 as the Buffs extended their home win streak to 16 games.
THE BASICS
The Matchup: #13 West Texas A&M 77, Central Baptist 63
Records: #13 West Texas A&M (13-2), Central Baptist (11-1)
Venue: First United Bank Center
Location: Canyon, Texas
West Texas A&M dominated from the opening tip shooting 8-of-12 from three-point range to lead 28-13 at the under 12-mintue media timeout. Ryan Quaid scored six straight points out of the timeout followed by a fast break layup by Brandon Hall ad Gach's fourth three-pointer of the first half to stretch the lead to a game-high 24 points, 41-17, at 6:15. Derrick Geddis would score WT's final bucket of the first half two minutes later as they headed into halftime leading 43-27.
The Mustangs cut WT's lead to 10 in the opening three minutes of the second half before Geddis converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 49-36. Four straight points from Gach three minutes later would stretch the lead back to 15, 54-39. The lead would stay in double figures until the final five minutes when CBC went on a 6-0 run to make it 70-63. Hall would then take the game over hitting a jumper in the lane followed by a trip to the charity stripe where he would go 1-of-2. Qua Grant would connect on a jumper of his own followed by a layup from Eric Mosley following a steal and assist from Hall.
WT finished the contest 28-of-60 (46.7%) form the floor, 9-of-26 (34.6%) from beyond the arc and 12-of-20 (60.0%) from the free throw line while pulling down 29 rebounds, 14 assists, 12 turnovers, 12 steals and a block. Gach led the team in scoring for the sixth time this season with 17 points going 5-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-8 from three with four rebounds. Quaid reached double figures for the seventh consecutive game with 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. Hall also reached double figures for the third straight contest with 12 points with eight of those coming in the second half. Joel Murray tied a career-high with seven assists and three steals to go along with seven points.
UP NEXT
West Texas A&M returns to Lone Star Conference play on Thursday, Jan. 3, at UT Permian Basin. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Falcon Dome in Odessa, Texas.
