CANYON, Texas – No. 7 West Texas A&M overcame a six-point halftime deficit to defeat Oklahoma Christian 81-65 on Thursday evening in front of 963 fans at the First United Bank Center. Qua Grant scored 16 of 21 points in the second half as the Buffs won their 33^rd straight game at home and improved to 11-1 overall and 3-1 in Lone Star Conference play. 
 
WT were lucky to only trail 31-25 at halftime after shooting 26.5 percent from the floor and 10.5 percent from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes. Both of their makes from 3-point range came in the opening five minutes as Eric Mosley and Zach Toussaint connected from downtown.
 
A John Brown layup at 14:49 gave the Buffs their last lead of the first half, 10-8, followed by five straight points from OC.  The Buffs would fight back to tie the game three times but were unable to retake the lead in the first half as they trailed 31-25 at half. 
 
The Buffs opened the second half with a press that lead to a 6-0 run that tied the game at 31-all following a 3-point play the old-fashioned way by Grant. They were trailing by one, 37-36, at 17:08 before going on a 9-1 run to retake the lead for good. Joel Murray got everything started with a 3-pointer with a defender in his face.
 
The lead would reach double figures, 53-42, at 11:36 on a 3-pointer from Toussaint. The freshman would make another on the next trip down the floor giving the freshman nine points on the night. Brown would score four of his 16 points on two of WT's next four possessions before Grant his only 3-pointer of the game to make it 65-50 with under eight minutes remaining in the game. 
 
The lead would reach a game-high 17, 79-62 in the final two minutes on a free throw from Derrick Geddis. Hayden Blankley would finish the scoring with a pair of free throws in the final minute as the Buffs defeated OC in their first-ever trip to Canyon. 
 
Grant finished the game with his third double-double of the season and fifth of his career with 21 points and 12 rebounds. He went 6-of-19 from the field and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe as he went over 20 points for the eighth time this season. Murray finished with 16 points, four steals and four assists with Geddis and Brown also reaching double figures. 
 
The Buffs return to action on Saturday, Dec. 21, against Arkansas-Fort Smith. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the FUBC.