Stats
Video
Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – No. 7 West Texas A&M hosts Adams State on Friday, Nov. 8, in their home opener at the First United Bank Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. The Buffs opened the 2019-20 season with a pair of wins at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic where Joel Murray and Qua Grant earned All-Tournament honors. 
 
A LOOK BACK AT THE SMALL COLLEGE BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME CLASSIC
The Buffs opened the season 2-0 for the fourth straight season with wins over No. 6 Lincoln Memorial and USC Aiken in St Joseph, Mo. Grant hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to send the season opener against LMU into overtime where WT proceeded to outscore the Railsplitters 13-3. They once again had their hands full against USC Aiken with the Pacers' Brock Faison scoring 22 off the bench but the duo of Grant and Murray were too much as WT won 91-80.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Buffs put the nation's longest home win streak on the line when they host the Grizzlies on Friday afternoon. WT has won 26 straight home games dating including a perfect 17-0 record last season where they defeated three ranked teams en route to their second consecutive South Central Regional Championship. They last loss at home to a non-conference opponent on Nov. 2015 against Lubbock Christian. 
 
A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Sophomore Derrick Geddis had a strong start to the season scoring a career-high 19 points in WT's win over the Railsplitters. The Houston native was a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point range, two more than he made during his entire freshman season. He also pulled down a total of 10 rebounds over the first two games.
 
Geddis was not the only Buff who put up career numbers as Murray scored a career-high 27 points in consecutive games. The sophomore scored 27 points during both games in Missouri including a near triple double against USC Aiken with eight rebounds and eight assists. He also went to the charity stripe 13 times, 11 makes, against the Pacers on Saturday. 
 
Grant isn't about the Sophomore Slump life as he recorded his third career double-double against LMU with 23 points and 12 rebounds, all of those coming on the defensive end of the floor. The 2018-19 Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year has now scored over 600 points in 40 starts where he is shooting 50.2 percent from the floor and 36.0 percent from 3-point range. 
 
Zach Toussaint was one of four true freshmen to see action at the Hall of Fame Classic as he appeared in both games last weekend. After scoring two points in the opener against LMU, Toussaint showcased his range against USC Aiken going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc to put him in double figures for the first time in his career.
 
BUFFS RANKED IN TOP 10 OF D2SIDA POLL
West Texas A&M is ranked fifth in the D2SIDA Division II Top 25 poll that released for the first time this week. The Buffs are one of two schools from the LSC in the Top 25 with Texas A&M-Commerce and Tarleton receiving votes.
 
Northwest Missouri State received 14 of the 16 first-place votes with N0va Southeastern in second and West Liberty in third. Bellarmine is just ahead of WT in fourth with UC San Diego, Queens, Indiana (Pa.), Missouri Southern and St. Edward's rounding out the Top 10.
 
A LOOK AT ADAMS STATE
Adams State is led by fifth-year head coach Russ Caton, who has led the Grizzlies to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament four times. ASU is coming off a 11-17 finish under Caton in 2018-19 where he they nearly upset top-seeded Colorado School of Mines in postseason play. 
 
ASU lost their top three scorers from last year (John Dewey, Davere Creighton and Shemar Johnson) but return senior Rickey Norris. The Chicago, Illinois native averaged 12.6 points per contest in his first season in Alamosa after transferring from New Mexico Highlands. Senior Szymon Walczak also returns for the Grizzlies after averaging 6.4 points and 3.0 rebounds last year. 
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
The Buffs lead the all-time series 11-4 including 7-1 in games played in Canyon, WT has won four straight in the series dating back to Nov. 18, 2008. 
 
In their last meeting, Grant and Ryan Quaid each scored 23 points as the Buffs won 112-87 in Alamosa. It was the first time in the series that either team had scored over 100 points as WT went 15-of-36 from 3-point range, including 11 in the first half. 
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The WT Athletic Communications Department will provide live stats and pay-per-view webstream for the game. A new partnership with BlueFrame Technology and the Lone Star Conference has been established with the LSC Digital Network debuting this fall. Fans can purchase a $5 single-day pass or a $50 season pass that includes every home WT even during the 2019-20 season. 
 
UP NEXT
WT will host Western Colorado on Saturday, Nov. 9, looking to avenge one of their four losses from last season. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.