WICHITA FALLS, Texas – No. 11 West Texas A&M defeated MSU Texas 87-62 on Thursday evening at the D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas behind a near triple-double from Brandon Hall giving the Buffs consecutive road wins in the series for the first time since 1959. Hall finished the game with 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the WT reached the 20-win plateau for the fourth straight season under head coach Tom Brown.

THE BASICS
The Matchup: #11 West Texas A&M 87, MSU Texas 62
Records: #11 West Texas A&M (20-3, 9-1 LSC), MSU Texas 6-14 (2-8 LSC)
Venue: D.L. Ligon Coliseum
Location: Wichita Falls, Texas

After a slow start, WT stormed out to a 12-point lead, 24-12, on a 13-2 run that lasted less than four minutes. Brandon Hall got the run started with a fast break layup followed by a three from Gach Gach. Following a block by Ryan Quaid, Hall beat the defense down the court for an easy layup followed by one of Jordan Collins' four first half three-pointers.

The Mustangs responded with a 14-0 run of their own to take the lead, 25-24, as the Buffs went scoreless for close to six minutes. With the game tied at 28-28 with 4:14 remaining in the half, WT rolled off 17 of the next 19 points thanks in large part to three consecutive three-pointers from Collins to lead 45-30 at half.

The Buffs opened the second half on a 7-0 run to push the lead to 22, 52-30, following a three-point play the old-fashioned way by Hall. Quaid would connect on his second three of the evening on the next possession giving him 10 points in the game to pass Jordan Evans into third on the all-time scoring list. WT never let the lead get below 22 points as they lead by a game-high 31, 82-61, with 4:04 remaining in the contest following a Qua Grant layup.

WT shot 29-of-71 (40.8%) from the floor, 9-of-32 (28.1%) from three-point range and 20-of-24 (83.3%) from the free throw line while pulling down 44 rebounds, 13 assists, six steals and three blocks with only five turnovers. Hall reached the 20-poinit plateau for third time this season after shooting 8-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-7 from the charity stripe. Quaid finished the game with 16 points, eight rebounds two blocks and two steals while Collins chipped in 14 points off the bench. Gach reached double figures for the first time in four games with 12 points after going a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.

UP NEXT
WT finish their three-game road trip on Saturday, Feb. 2, against the Aggies of Cameron in Lawton, Okla. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.