Men's Champs
76
UT Permian Basin UTPB 24-6
80
Winner West Texas A&M WT 28-3
UT Permian Basin UTPB
24-6
76
Final
80
West Texas A&M WT
28-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UT Permian Basin UTPB 36 40 76
West Texas A&M WT 33 47 80

Next Game:

Colorado School of Mines

3/10/2018 | 6 p.m.

KIXZ AM 940

Next Game

Full Schedule
Mar. 10 (Sat) / 6 p.m.
 Colorado School of Mines

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

No. 13 Buffs Dig Deep for Seventh Lone Star Conference Championship in Program History

THE BASICS:
 
  • Score: #1 West Texas A&M 80, #2 UT Permian Basin 76
 
  • Records: No. 13 West Texas A&M 28-3, No. 20 UT Permian Basin 24-6
 
  • Location: Frisco, Texas (Dr. Pepper Arena)
 
  • The Lead: The No. 13-ranked and top-seeded West Texas A&M men's basketball team dug deep as it battled back from an 11-point deficit for a thrilling 80-76 victory in the 2017-18 Lone Star Conference Championship game over No. 2-seeded and No. 20 nationally UT Permian Basin Sunday afternoon.  Seniors David Chavlovich and Jordan Evans each had 21 points to lead the team.
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
  • In a battle of the top two scoring offenses in the league and the previous two meetings saw one team scoring in the 100's both times and both scored over 100 in the same game. 
  • UTPB jumped out to a 12-7 lead capped with a triple from James McPherson as the Falcons were hot early.
  • The Falcons got early production from Zeldric King and Lone Star Conference Player of the Year Daeshon Francis as he extended the lead to 10 at 21-11 with 11:51 left on a pair of charity tosses. 
  • Evans buried his first triple of the game cutting the deficit to six at 23-17, but McPherson answered with a triple pushing the lead back to nine with 9:18 left in the half.
  • Francis scored with 7:57 left for a 28-17 lead as it was the largest lead of the game for the Falcons, but Chavlovich answered with a trey at the other end for a 28-20 deficit as the Buffs outscored UTPB 13-8 the rest of the half.
  • WT took a brief lead – just the second of the half with a long triple from sophomore Jordan Collins with 2:56 left at 33-32.
  • Francis hit two free throws in the final minute for a 36-33 lead as UTPB closed the half with the final four points.
  • UTPB stretched the lead back out to eight early in the second half on shots from Josh Morris and Francis for a 43-35 lead. 
  • Evans cut the deficit to six on a ripple with 17:17 left at 47-41, but Morris scored inside at the other end pushing the lead back to eight, but it would be the largest lead UTPB would have the rest of the game.
  • Sophomore Drew Evans scored in the paint and a costly turnover by the Falcons gave J. Evans a look at a three as he knocked it down, cutting the deficit to three at 49-46 with 15:24 left.
  • A bucket by junior Ryan Quaid and two free throws from J. Evans cut the deficit to one at 51-50 with 12:23 left, but UTPB had the answer with six quick points. 
  • Not to fret, the Buffs closed within three on a triple from freshman CJ Jennings for a 58-55 score with 9:50 left and two free throws from Chavlovich once again pulled WT within one at 58-57.
  • J. Evans tied the game with a triple and a huge point in the game came when Garrett Baggett received a technical foul on the Evans triple as Jennings made two free throws for a six-point play as WT took a 62-60 lead with 8:01 left. 
  • Evans pushed the lead to a then-game-high four at 64-60 and later hit a triple pushing the lead to five at 67-62 with 7:06 left and Francis fouled out moments later, while Morris fouled out not too long after Francis.
  • Since the technical, WT went on a 10-2 run.
  • Andres Villa scored inside for the Falcons cutting the WT lead to 68-66 with 5:09 left and LSC Defensive Player of the Year, Sammy Allen, tied the game at 68 with a jumper with 3:33 remaining.
  • Chavlovich camae up with two free throws with 3:19 left breaking the tie at 70-68.
  • King came up big for the Falcons with a bucket and earned the "and one" for a 71-70 UTPB lead with 2:11 left.
  • Chavlovich – the LSC Tournament Most Valuable Player, took over with a layup with 1:18 left and a 72-71 WT lead. Jennings buried two free throws and then Chavlovich hit just his second triple of the game for a 77-73 lead with 22 seconds left.
  • King scored inside for the Falcons earning the "and one" again for a 77-76 WT lead. 
  • Chavlovich made one of two free throws and junior Gach Gach came down with the biggest rebound of the season with two seconds left as Allen had a great look at a layup and missed the put back as Gach corralled the rebound and was fouled by Allen. 
  • Gach made both free throws for the 80-76 advantage as UTPB heaved a half-court shot at the buzzer sailing wide.
 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
  • Both teams didn't shoot terribly, but the Buff "D" held the league's best field goal shooting team to just 43.3 percent on 13 of 30 from the field, while going 4 of 10 from range and 6 of 7 from the line.  Francis had a team-high ten points on 3 of 8 from the field and 4 of 4 from the line.
  • The Buffs shot 12 of 31 from the field for 38.7 percent, while going 5 of 16 from beyond the arc and 4 of 6 from the line.
  • UTPB dominated the glass, outrebounding WT 23-13 for the half and held an 18-8 lead in points in the paint. 
  • The Buffs keyed their comeback on 11 miscues by the Falcons leading to an 11-2 lead in points off turnovers.  UTPB had just three turnovers the entire game last night in the win over Tarleton State.
  • Chavlovich scored a team-high seven points in the half on 3 of 10 with one triple, four rebounds, two assists and one block.
  • Evans finished the game with 21 points on 7 of 14 from the field to lead the team, while going 5 of 12 from beyond the arc and 2 of 2 from the line.  He had four rebounds and one steal.
  • Chavlovich had 21 points on 6 of 19 from the field, 2 of 8 from range and 7 of 10 from the line, while pulling down nine rebounds, six assists and a block earning LSC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
  • No other Buff was in double figures, but Gach also had nine rebounds with five points and four huge blocks. 
  • As a team, WT shot 38.5 percent from the field on 25 of 65, while going 11 of 37 from beyond the arc and 19 of 26 from the line.WT had just ten turnovers in the game with 12 assists and a season-high 11 blocks and seven steals.
  • UTPB had three players in double figures and a pair of double-doubles from Francis (18 pts./10 rebs.) and Allen had 17 points and 19 rebounds, including 13 on the defensive end. King added 13 points off the bench.
  • The Falcons shot 45.2 percent on 28 of 62, but were just 4 of 14 from beyond the arc, missing their final nine triples in the game and went 16 of24 from the line.
  • UTPB held a 48-32 lead in rebounding, but 19 turnovers led to a 19-6 lead in points off turnovers for the Buffs while UTPB dominated inside 48-22.
  • WT won its seventh Lone Star Conference Tournament title and improved to 7-5 all-time in the championship game, while head coach Tom Brown improved to 3-3 in the Lone Star Conference Championship in his fourth year with the program.
  • The Buffs now are 35-19 all-time in the LSC Championship overall and Brown won his 92nd game at WT (92-34). 
  • WT won its 28th game of the season and are within one win of tying the school-record set in 1940-41 with a 29-6 record.
  • The Buffs last won the conference tournament title in 2006 with a 99-85 win over Tarleton State in Durant, Okla., and that same year the Lady Buffs also won in Canyon marking the last time the same school won both conference championships in the same season.  The Lady Buffs defeated Tarleton State earlier today also in Frisco for the women's title.
  • J. Evans, along with Chavlovich were named to the LSC All-Tournament Team, as were Francis and Allen and Reggie Reid of Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
 
UP NEXT:
 
  • The Buffs earned the automatic qualifier into the NCAA South Central Regional for the Lone Star Conference and will await whether they will be hosting the 2018 NCAA South Central Regional, Mar. 10-11, 13. 
  • The 2018 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday evening at 9:30 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.
  • Check www.gobuffsgo.com following that for updates on where and when WT will play next week.
 
 
STAY CONNECTED:
 
  • For the latest on WT Athletics, follow the Buffs/Lady Buffs via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.  Also check back with www.gobuffsgo.com for the latest information on news, statistics, tickets and more on all of West Texas A&M athletics.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

David Chavlovich

#1 David Chavlovich

G
5' 11"
Senior
Jordan Collins

#5 Jordan Collins

G
6' 0"
Sophomore
Drew Evans

#0 Drew Evans

G
6' 3"
Sophomore
Jordan Evans

#3 Jordan Evans

G
6' 5"
Senior
Ryan Quaid

#22 Ryan Quaid

G
6' 7"
Junior
CJ Jennings

#2 CJ Jennings

G
6' 1"
Freshman
Gach Gach

#10 Gach Gach

G
6' 4"
Junior

Players Mentioned

David Chavlovich

#1 David Chavlovich

5' 11"
Senior
G
Jordan Collins

#5 Jordan Collins

6' 0"
Sophomore
G
Drew Evans

#0 Drew Evans

6' 3"
Sophomore
G
Jordan Evans

#3 Jordan Evans

6' 5"
Senior
G
Ryan Quaid

#22 Ryan Quaid

6' 7"
Junior
G
CJ Jennings

#2 CJ Jennings

6' 1"
Freshman
G
Gach Gach

#10 Gach Gach

6' 4"
Junior
G