SAN ANGELO, Texas – No. 8 West Texas A&M led from the opening whistle en route to defeating Angelo State 89-78 on Saturday afternoon at the Junell Center in San Angelo, Texas. Ryan Quaid made a career-high 14 free throws en route to a team-high 24 points as the Buffs improved to 16-3 on the season and 5-1 in Lone Star Conference play.
THE BASICS
The Matchup: #8 West Texas A&M 89, Angelo State 78
Records: #8 West Texas A&M (16-3, 5-1 LSC), Angelo State (10-4, 3-2 LSC)
Venue: Junell Center
Location: San Angelo Texas
Qua Grant helped the Buffs get off to a hot start as the freshman scored all of his seven first half points in the opening five minutes as WT led by five, 12-7. The lead would reach as high as 12, 19-7, at 11:41 following three-pointers from Jordan Collins and Eric Mosley. The Rams would find their footing over the next five minutes to cut the lead to eight, 30-22, with a little over seven minutes remaining until halftime. WT responded with a 7-0 run to stretch the lead to 15, 37-22, as they held the ASU without a field goal for the final 6:48 of the half.
Much like his freshman counterpart in the first half, Joel Murray was the best offensive option for the Buffs in the opening minutes of the second half scoring nine of their first 11 points. Already leading 50-40 with 13:50 remaining in the game, WT went on a 10-0 run to take a game-high 20-piont lead into the final 10 minutes of regulation. The Rams wouldn't go down without a fight as they retaliated with a 22-5 run over the next five minutes to cut the lead to three, 65-62, on Antonio Singleton's three-pointer.
That would be the closest the home side would get as a pair of Drew Evans free throws on the following possession sparked a 13-3 run, making it 78-65, with less than two minutes remaining. ASU would make a trio of three-pointers before the final whistle but were unable to cut into the lead as the Buffs finished the contest 11-of-16 from the charity stripe to win 89-78.
WT finished the game 23-of-47 (48.9%) from the floor, 9-of-18 (50.0%) from three-point range and 34-of-48 (70.8%) from the free throw line along with 24 rebounds, nine assists, four steals and three blocks. Quaid's team-high 24 points mark the fifth time this season the Fort Collins, Colo. native has eclipsed the 20-point plateau after going 5-of-11 from the floor and a career-best 14-of-16 from the free throw line. Grant added 17 points with five rebounds and two assists with Murray and Hall chipping in 16 and 12 respectively. Gach Gach also reached double figures with 10 after coming off the bench for just the fourth time in his career.
UP NEXT
WT will play at the First United Bank Center for the first time in over a month when they host #24 Texas A&M-Commerce on Thursday, Jan. 17, Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
