SAN ANTONIO, Texas – No. 3 West Texas A&M returned to the win column on Saturday evening with a 96-77 victory over St. Mary's at the McDermott Center in San Antonio. Five Buffs reached double figures as they shot 60.3 percent from the floor and 44.0 percent from 3-point range to improve to 10-1 overall and 2-1 in Lone Star Conference play.
It was all WT from the opening tip as they made six of their first seven shots to lead 14-2 at the first media timeout. Joel Murray scored six of those points in the opening three minutes with Eric Mosley also connecting on his first 3-pointer since Nov. 30.
Zach Toussaint opened his scoring account with a pair of 3-pointers to push the lead to 13, 20-7, at the 12:28 mark. Five minutes later, WT would push the lead to 21, 40-19, following a 10-2 run highlighted by seven points from Qua Grant.
Following the run, the Buffs would go nearly three minutes without a basket before Jon'il Fugett connected on his only three of the night. Mosley would finish the scoring for WT in the first half with his second make from downtown to give the visitors a 50-31 lead.
The bench came alive for WT in the second half led by Jordan Collins and John Brown. Collins opened his scoring account with a 3-pointer at 15:57 to make it 61-39 followed by six straight points from Brown. The second unit continued to punish the Rattlers with Toussaint scoring five points, including his third three of the game, and Hayden Blankley getting a layup off an offensive rebound.
Much like the first half, the Buffs went four minutes without a basket in the final minutes of the game before Toussaint hit a jumper with 2:03 remaining in the contest. Jake Gerber finished the scoring for WT with his second career 3-pointer as WT won their 12th straight over StMU.
Grant was once again the leading scorer for the Buffs with 19 to go along with nine rebounds and five assists. Derrick Geddis scored 13 for the second consecutive game going a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor while Murray added 11 of his own with a team-high six assists. Collins reached double figures for the first time this season with 11.
WT returns to the friendly confines of the First United Bank Center on Thursday, Dec. 19, when they host the Eagles of Oklahoma Christian. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
