EVANSVILLE, Ind. – No. 3 West Texas A&M saw their record-breaking season come to end on Wednesday night at the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in a 94-84 loss to Southern Indiana in front of 7,330 fans at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. despite a 27-point performance from Qua Grant. The Buffs finish the 2018-19 season with a program record 34 wins which included a 19-game win streak and South Central, Lone Star Conference Tournament and Regular Season titles.

THE BASICS,
The Matchup:Southern Indiana 94, #3 West Texas A&M 84 
Records:Southern Indiana (26-8), #3 West Texas A&M (34-4)
Venue:Ford Center
Location:Evansville, Indiana

Grant recorded his 10th game of 20-plus points this season to go along with six rebounds and two steals with Ryan Quaid contributing 17 points and six rebounds as he became the first Buff to finish a career with 1,700 points, 1,000 rebounds and 100 blocks. Brandon Hall and Joel Murray also reached double figures with 15 and 11 respectively.

WT made one of their first five shots as USI jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first three minutes thanks to seven points from Alex Stein. The Buffs didn't panic as they responded with a 6-0 run over the next minute to close the gap on layups from Hall, Grant and Murray. 

A minute later, Gach Gach would make both free throws to make it a one-point contest, 11-10, for the second time in less than a minute. The Buffs were able to keep the game close over the next five minutes but were unable to take the lead. A three from USI's Mateo Rivera at 8:34 made it 26-19 in favor of the visitors before the Buffs cut into the lead on a pair of free throws from Quaid and three from Hall. 

Murray converted another layup with 3:35 remaining before halftime to cut the lead to four, 36-32. That would be their last basket for more than two minutes as USI finished the first half on a 10-2 run as the Buffs trailed 46-34 at halftime. 

The Buffs trailed by as many 15, 57-42, in the opening five minutes of the second half before going on a 14-1 run over the next 4:30 to cut the deficit to one. Grant got everything started with two layups before Jordan Collins hit his first three-pointer of the game in the left corner on a nice assist from Murray. Eric Mosley's jumper from just inside the arc was good before Murray hit another jumper and Grant put back an offensive rebound to make it 58-56 with 10:36 remaining in the game.

Quaid became the top offensive weapon for the Buffs over the next five minutes as the senior scored six of his 17 points over that stretch to keep the Buffs within five, 69-64. Grant didn't let foul trouble stop him from being aggressive as he scored the next five points for the Buffs to keep WT's hopes alive. Hall and Collins connected from beyond the arc in the final two minutes but it wasn't enough as WT fell 96-86 to USI. 

WT finished the game 27-of-62 (43.5%) from the floor, 5-of-25 (20.0%) from three-point range and 25-of-26 (65.2%) from the free throw line with 34 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a block.