CANYON, Texas – Qua Grant showed no love to Angelo State on Valentine's Day with a career-high 25 points with James Pennington chipping in 16 as No. 5 West Texas A&M defeated the Rams, 89-69, in front of 1,412 fans at the First United Bank Center to extend their home win streak to 21 games.
THE BASICS
The Matchup:#5 West Texas A&M 89, Angelo State 69
Records:#5 West Texas A&M (24-3, 13-1 LSC), Angelo State (16-6, 9-4 LSC)
Venue:First United Bank Center
Location:Canyon, Texas
WT trailed 5-0 after the opening two possession before storming back on a 10-0 run to take control of the game with Grant scoring six of those points in the paint. The Rams countered with a 6-0 run of their own to take their final lead of the game at 11-10. Three-pointers from Jordan Collins and Ryan Quaid on consecutive possession help the Buffs take control off the contest as they scored 14 of the next 19 points.
The lead reached double figures, 34-23, on a three from Brandon Hall following an ASU turnover followed by four straight points from the visitors to close the gap to eight points. WT responded with a 9-0 run of their own over the next two minutes with Gach going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to make it 43-27.
The Buffs continued to inflict their will in the second half as Hall scored five of WT's first nine points. Grant's jumper at right before the under 16-minute timeout put the Buffs up 21, 59-38. The lead would reach a game-high 31 points, 76-35, at 8:06 on a free throw from Derrick Geddis. The Rams started to knock down shots from the perimeter in the final minutes but it was a little too late as WT won their seventh straight meeting ASU.
In their 12thhome win of the season, WT shot 34-of-64 (53.1%) from the floor, 8-of-28 (28.6%) from three-point range and 13-of-20 (65.0%) from the free throw line while pulling down 31 rebounds, 14 assists, 13 steals and four blocks. Grant reached the 20-point plateau for the fourth time in his career making a career-high 10 shots with five rebounds and two assists. Pennington reached double figures for the first time in his career with 16 points going 6-of-8 from the floor. Hall reached double figures for the 15thconsecutive points with 11 while Gach Gach chipped in 11 of his own. Joel Murray filled the stat sheet with nine points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals.
UP NEXT
WT will honor its three seniors on Saturday, Feb. 16, before it's contest against Texas A&M-Kingsville at the First United Bank Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
