KINGSVILLE, Texas – No. 8 West Texas A&M committed a season-high 21 turnovers in their 86-74 loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Thursday night at the Gil E. Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville. The loss drops the Buffs to 15-3 on the season and 4-1 in Lone Star Conference play.
THE BASICS
The Matchup: Texas A&M-Kingsville 86, #8 West Texas A&M 74
Records: Texas A&M-Kingsville (5-7, 1-3 LSC), #8 West Texas A&M (15-3, 4-1 LSC)
Venue: Steinke Court
Location: Kingsville, Texas
Jordan Collins came off the bench to score eight first half points as the Buffs trailed at halftime for just the fifth time this season, 40-33, after shooting 11-of-29 (37.9%) from the floor, 6-of-17 (35.3%) from three and 5-of-6 (83.3%) from the free throw line in the first half.
The Buffs kept the game close throughout the first 20 minutes of the game before taking their onlylof the game with under four minutes remaining before the halftime whistle thanks to a 10-0 run. Brandon Hall got the run off with a three followed by a pair of free throws from Qua Grant on WT's next possession down the court. Hall would convert a layup on a nice pass from Collins before the Houston, Texas native hit his second three-pointer to make it 29-28 in favor of the visitors.
After falling behind by a game-high 13 points early in the second half, WT responded by a 9-0 to close the gap to 51-47 with just over 12 minutes remaining in regulation. That would be the closest they would get even with Grant scoring 10 of his team-high 14 points in the final six minutes of regulation as they dropped to 15-16 all-time in games played in Kingsville.
WT finished the contest 24-of-56 (42.9%) from the floor, 9-of-28 (32.1%) from beyond the arc and 17-of-24 from the free throw line with 28 rebounds, seven assists, seven steals and three blocks. Grant reached double figures for the 10th time in his short career with 14 going 4-of-10 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Gach Gach also reached double digits with 13 while Hall chipped in 12 points marking the sixth straight game the senior had scored more than 10 points.
UP NEXT
The Buffs finish their four-game road trip on Saturday, Jan. 12, at Angelo State at 4 p.m. The Rams defeated Eastern New Mexico 88-69 on Thursday night in San Angelo to 10-3 overall and 3-1 in LSC play.
