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CANYON, Texas – No. 5 West Texas A&M will host second place Angelo State on Thursday, Feb. 14, at the First United Bank Center in a pivotal Lone Star Conference matchup. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with Kent Johnson and Lucas Kinsey on the call on LoneStar 98.7.
A LOOK BACK AT UT PERMIAN BASIN
Ryan Quaid went for 29 points and 10 rebounds as he became West Texas A&M's all-time leader in games played as the No. 7 Buffs handled UT Permian Basin, 105-82, in front of 1,320 fans at the First United Bank Center on Saturday Afternoon. The senior also became third member of the 1,500-point club with a free throw in the first half.
WT went 37-of-74 (50.0%) from the floor, 12-of-32 (37.5%) from three-point range and 19-of-25 (76.0%) from the charity stripe with 30 rebounds, 17 assists, six steals and three blocks. Quaid scored 20 or more points for the seventh time this season and 15th time in his career after going 10-of-18 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. He also pulled down 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Que Grant's 20 point night marked the second time in three games he has eclipsed 20-point plateau. Brandon Hall also scored 20 points, 17 of those coming in the first half, with a team-high six assists. Gach Gach added 15 points going 3-of-4 from deep and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line while Joel Murray had 10 points and five assists.
A LOOK AT ANGELO STATE
Angelo State enters the week 16-5 overall and 9-3 in the Lone Star Conference having won their past four games. The Rams are tied for second in the league standings with Texas A&M-Commerce.
The Rams come in as the fourth-best offensive and defensive teams in the LSC averaging 79.7 points per game while holding opposing team to 70.8 points. Overall, they shoot 44.3 percent from the floor, 34.4 percent from three and 65.2 percent from the free throw line.
Antonio Singleton is one of four Rams in double figures in scoring with a team-high 13.2 points per contest. The senior guard is one of the top three-point shooters in the LSC making 43.5 percent of his attempts including a season-high seven the last time these two teams faced off.
Ronald Bell ranks second on the team in scoring at 12.7 points as the 6-foot-6 guard can score from all over the court as he is shooting 46.0 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from the free throw line. The Atlanta, Georgia native is also the top rebounder for the Rams at 7.1 boards per game.
Cinco Boone is in his fourth year as head coach where he has led ASU to a South Central Regional Final in 2015-16. Before being named the Rams head man, he spent two years as an assistant under now Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard.
LAST TIME VS. ANGELO STATE
Ryan Quaid made a career-high 14 free throws as No. 8 West Texas A&M led from start to finish to defeat Angelo State 89-78 on Jan. 12 in San Angelo, Texas. It was the Buffs sixth straight win over ASU and third straight at the Junell Center.
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.
INSIDE THE SERIES
West Texas A&M leads the all-time series 45-25 and 27-6 in games played in Canyon. The Buffs have won six straight in the series and three straight in Canyon for the first time since winning from 2010-12.
Head coach Tom Brown has won six straight games against the Rams since losing his first three matchups. In two of those wins, WT scored over 100 points including a 120-88 win in Canyon last year.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
WT's 20 game home win streak is the second longest in Division II men's basketball behind Dallas Baptist. The Buffs are a perfect 11-0 at the First United Bank Center this season outscoring opponents by 20.2 points. They are an outstanding 43-1 (97.7%) at home over the past two seasons.
With their blowout win over UT Permian Basin on Saturday, Tom Brown became the program's fifth-winningest coach passing Mark Adams. The fifth-year head coach now has 119 wins in 157 games, good enough for the third-best winning percentage (.758) in Buff basketball history.
During their current eight-game win streak, WT has outscored opponents by 91 points (350-259) in the first half compared to 107 points (725-618) during the previous 18 games combined. They were red hot in the first half outscoring UTPB and Western New Mexico 121-78 over the weekend
Ryan Quaid has played some of the best basketball of his career during the win streak where he is averaging 19.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting 53.3 percent from the floor and 80.4 percent from the free throw line. He has reached double figures in scoring in all eight games including three games with 20-plus. He also scored a career-high 30 points against Eastern New Mexico on Jan. 22.
Gach Gach moved into seventh in all-time three-pointers made on Saturday going 3-of-4 from deep to pass recent WT Hall of Champions Inductee Matt Madison. His127 career makes are now 20 short of passing Cedrich Wilson (1994-96) for sixth.
WT HEAD COACH TOM BROWN
Fifth-year head coach Tom Brown is now the fifth-winningest coach in program history following their win over UT Permian Basin on Feb. 9 at the First United Bank Center. He also ranked third in win percentage (75.8%) as he has guided the Buffs to four consecutive seasons with 20-plus wins. He is also the only coach in WT history to lead the team to a pair of 20 game home win streaks.
A LOOK AT THE RANKINGS
WT moved back into the Top-5 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Top-25. The Buffs moved up two spots to fifth while moving up to seventh in the D2SIDA Rankings released on Tuesday. WT is one of three schools from the South Central Region in the Top-15 in the NABC poll.
LIVE COVERAGE
Live stats and video will be provided for Thursday's contest against Angelo State. Links can be found at GoBuffsGo.com under the men's basketball schedule page. Also follow the Buffs on Twitter (@WestTXD2Hoops) for live updates.
