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CANYON, Texas – For the second time in less than a week and fourth time this season, No. 3 West Texas A&M will face off against fifth-seeded Texas A&M-Commerce in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Semifinal on Saturday, March 16, at the First United Bank Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with Kent Johnson and Lucas Kinsey on the call at LoneStar 98.7. 
 
The two teams met last Sunday in the Lone Star Conference Tournament in Frisco, Texas where Brandon Hall scored a career-high 32 points to lift the Buffs to their second consecutive tournament title. 
 
A LOOK BACK AT NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
No. 3 West Texas A&M made 14 three-pointers as they rolled past eighth-seeded New Mexico Highlands, 109-95, on Friday evening in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Quarterfinal at the First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas. Ryan Quaid scored a team-high 25 points while Qua Grant chipped in as the Buffs tied the program record for wins in a season with 32. 
 
WT finished the contest going 37-of-73 (53.4%) from the floor, 14-of-33 (42.4%) from three-point range and 17-of-24 (70.8%) from the free throw line with 41 rebounds, 20 assists, 11 turnovers, four steals and three blocks.
 
A LOOK AT TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE
Texas A&M-Commerce (24-8) advanced to Saturday's semifinal after scoring the final six points of the game to defeat fifth-seeded Dallas Baptist on Friday night Canyon. Carson Tuttle made his only basket of the game in the final minutes to help the Lions rally for their second consecutive semifinal appearance.
 
Willie Rooks is the swiss army knife for the Lions as the senior leads team in scoring and rebounding. The Houston, Texas native is scoring 15.0 points contest shooting .41.8 percent from the floor and 36.1 percent from three-point range while pulling down 6.2 boards per game. He recorded a triple-double in the Lions win over Angelo State in the LSC tournament. Reggie Reid has played in the past four contest after missing some time due to injury and gives TAMUC another versatile guard who can shoot and defend.
 
Trey Conrod has also been playing well for TAMUC as the senior had reached double figures in nine straight games until being held to nine by DBU on Friday. 
 
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. The second year head coach has now led the Lions to back-to-back Regional Semifinal appearances. 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
Brandon Hall had a heroics effort in their last meeting as the senior scored a career-high 32 points to help WT defeat TAMUC 57-55 in the LSC Tournament Final on Sunday, March 17, in Frisco Texas. He made a career-high eight three-pointers as the Buffs swept the LSC Championships for the second straight year.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series 62-33 including 24-7 games played in Canyon. Saturday's meeting will mark the eighth time the two teams have faced off over the past two seasons with WT winning six of the previous seven.
 
The Buffs are 2-0 all-time against TAMUC in the NCAA Tournament having eliminated the Lions in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
With their 109-95 win over NMHU, WT has now won 17 games for the second time in the past two seasons. A win over the Lions would give tie the program record and give them 18 consecutive wins for the first time since the 1940-41 season. 
 
WT is looking to defeat TAMUC for a fourth time this season, a feat they have not accomplished since defeating Hardin Simmons on four different occasions during the 1945-46 season. Last season, the Buffs went 3-1 agianst the Lions including a 93-70 win in the regional semifinal
 
D2CCA South Central Region Player of the Year Ryan Quaid recorded his 10th game with at least 20 points on Friday. The senior enters Saturday's semifinal looking to break into the Top 10 in a variety of single season records. His 191 free throw attempts are tied for the 10th most with Tez Dumars (2014-15) while his 206 made field goals are 11 short of tying Dale Blaut (1969-70) and Reggie Ramey (1973-73) for the ninth-most. He is also 20 rebounds short of 1,000 for his career. 
 
Joel Murray continues to do it all for the Buffs as the freshman guard recorded his nine assist game of the season in the quarterfinal. The Rowlett, Texas natives 65 steals on the season are the third-most in program history, two short of passing Michael Crowe's total from the 1993-94 season. He is six short of joining David Rhone as the only Buffs with 70 steals in a single season. 
 
Jordan Collins was feeling on against the Cowboys as the junior scored a career-high 15 points while making a career-best five three-pointers in the process. After being held to three points in the LSC Tournament, the junior showed up big when it mattered most connecting from deep five times for the first time in his career. 
 
A LOOK AROUND THE BRACKET
Three of the top four seeds won on Friday night with Lubbock Christian upsetting third-seeded Colorado School of Mines in Austin, Texas. The Heartland Conference and LSC both have two teams remaining in the final four with the championship scheduled for Tuesday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m.
 
QUAID NAMED D2CCA SOUTH CENTRAL REGION PLAYER OF THE YEAR
West Texas A&M senior Ryan Quaid has been the D2CCA South Central Region Player of the Year while teammate Qua Grant earned Second Team All-Region honors. Quaid becomes the second Buff to be named South Central Region Player of the Year and first since Damien Lolar in 2007. 
 
Starting in all 34 games this season, Quaid was named the Lone Star Conference Player of the year, while also earning First Team All-LSC honors for the second consecutive season. The senior ranks third among LSC players in points per game (15.3), while he stands second in field goal percentage (.513) and fifth in rebounds (7.6). 
 
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 (77.1%) 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. 
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live stats and video will be provided for Saturday's contest against 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.