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CANYON, Texas – Looking to secure their second consecutive outright Lone Star Conference title, No. 4 West Texas A&M heads to second-place Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday, Feb. 23, at A&M-Commerce Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. with Kent Johnson and Lucas Kinsey on the call at Lonestar 98.7.
 
The Buffs clinched at least a share of the LSC regular season title with their 81-65 win over Tarleton on Thursday in Stephenville, Texas.  A win over the Lions on Saturday would give WT back-to-back outright titles and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament on March 8-10 at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.
 
A LOOK BACK AT TARLETON
Ryan Quaid became the program's second all-time leading scorer in the second half of No. 4 West Texas A&M's 81-65 victory over Tarleton on Thursday night at Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas. Quaid's game-high 23 points led the Buffs to their second consecutive road win over the Texans since 1999-2001 as their win streak reached 11 games.
 
WT finished the game 30-of-57 (53.6%) from the floor, 14-of-30 (46.7%) from three-point range and 7-of-9 (77.8%) from the free throw line to go along with 24 rebounds, 15 assists, 15 steals and three blocks. Quaid's 23-point performance marked the ninth time this season and 16th time in his career he scored 20 or more points in a game as he went 9-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Joel Murray scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half while tying a career-high with five steals. Qua Grant was equally impressive on the defensive end with seven steals and six rebounds to go with his 15 points. Jordan Collins came off the bench to score 12 points reaching double figures for the seventh time this season.
 
A LOOK AT TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE
Texas A&M-Commerce enters the final two weeks of the regular season 20-5 overall and 12-3 in LSC play. The Lions were one of three LSC schools represent in the NCAA Division II South Central Rankings in fourth ahead of Angelo State. 
 
The Lions' 82.1 points per game is the third-highest in the LSC while their scoring margin of +9.2 is second only to WT. Much like the Buffs, TAMUC likes to shoot the three having made 10-plus from downtown in four straight including 16 against Cameron on Feb. 7.
 
Willie Rooks has turned into the Lions top option on the offensive end of the floor over the past month, The senior from Houston, Texas is averaging 14.6 points per game and has scored in double figures in 13 straight games including a season-high 27 against Eastern New Mexico on Jan. 19. He has also recorded a pair of double doubles during that stretch. Trey Conrod has also been relied on to score more as the senior has reached double figures in six of the Lions past seven games.
 
Jaret Von Rosenberg was named the fourth head coach in Texas A&M-Commerce's Division II era on April 3, 2017, after spending two seasons as an assistant at the University of Hartford. In his first season in Commerce, he led the Lions to a 22-9 record, their first NCAA Tournament win since 2005 and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a roster that featured two returners from the previous season.
 
LAST TIME VS. TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE
After only leading by two at halftime, WT outscored the Lions 53-34 in the second half for a convincing 87-66 victory at the First United Bank Center on January 17, 2019. 
 
Brandon hall paced the Buffs offense with a game-high 24 points going 10-of-16 from the floor. The senior also had a career-high five steals while pulling down nine rebounds and four assists. Joel Murray had 19 points with seven rebounds and four assists. 
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
The Buffs are 60-33 all-time against TAMUC and 24-19 in games played in Commerce dating back to 1922-23. Since losing five straight in the series from 2013-15, WT has won 8 of the last 10 meetings including five straight at home. 
 
WT's last win in Commerce came on January 20, 2016 when David Chavlovich scored 23 of his 31 points in the second half to lead the Buffs to a 85-81 victory.
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Quaid has been incredible during the Buffs 11-game win streak averaging 18.8 points per contest. The Fort Collins, Colo. native has scored in double figures in 10 of 11 those games including a career-high 30 points against Eastern New Mexico on Jan. 22. The senior is averaging a career-high 16.2 points per game this season.
 
Murray's 54 steals are the ninth-most in a single season in program history, four short of moving up to sixth. In the past three games, the Rowlett, Texas native has recorded 14 steals including a pair of games with five steals. He is also four assists short of becoming the first freshman with 100 assists in a single season since Rod Prater had 125 in 2002-03. 
 
Collins provided a spark off the bench for the Buffs on Thursday with 12 points going 4-of-5 from three-point range. The junior has made a three in 23 of 25 appearances including 18 games with multiple three-pointers.
 
Brandon Hall won a total of 35 games during his three-year playing career at Emporia State before coming to WT. The Arlington, Texas native has now won more conference games (15) this season than he won in a single season (13) as a Hornet. 
 
A LOOK AT THE RANKINGS
WT moved up one spot to fourth in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top-25 released on Tuesday afternoon. They also moved up one spot in the D2SIDA Top-25 to sixth. 
 
The Buffs were ranked second in the initial NCAA Division II South Central Regional Rankings behind St. Edward's. The Hilltoppers rank first with an overall record of 19-2 heading into a big road test at Dallas Baptist on Saturday.
 
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 ranks second in win percentage (76.3%) 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. 
 
GRANT NAMED LSC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
West Texas A&M freshman Qua Grant was named the Lone Star Conference Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday afternoon after leading the Buffs to two home wins last week.
 
The freshman guard averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 65.2 percent from the floor and 87.5 percent from the free throw line In Thursday's 89-69 win over ASU, he scored a career-high 25 points going 10-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. In Saturday's dramatic overtime win over Texas A&M-Kingsville, he scored 13 points with seven rebounds in a career-high 37 minutes of action.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live stats and video will be provided for Saturday's contest against at Texas A&M-Commerce. Links can be found at GoBuffsGo.com under the men's basketball schedule page. Also follow the Buffs on Twitter (@WestTXD2Hoops) for live updates.