CANYON, Texas– Sixth-year head coach Tom Brown won his 150th career game on Thursday night as No. 3 West Texas A&M defeated Western New Mexico 105-81 on Thursday night at the First United Bank Center. He became the fastest coach to reach the mark as WT extended the nation's longest home win streak to 37 games.
WT led 14-4 after the opening 5:30 courtesy of a 10-0 run after trailing by two in the opening minutes. A steal and layup from Jon'il Fugett gave the Buffs the lead for good followed by an old-fashioned 3-point play from John Brown with Joel Murray finishing the run with a pullup jumper
The lead would get down to five, 24-19, with a little more than 10 minutes remaining in the first half before the Buffs responded with a quick 5-0 to retake momentum. WT would outscore the Mustangs 21-2 over the final six minutes to take a 59-32 lead into halftime.
Qua Grant opened the second half with five straight points, including one of his two 3-pointers, to give the Buffs a 64-32 lead. JT Warren, Zach Toussaint and Fugett would connect from downtown as the lead would reach a game-high 35, 84-49, with 12:03 remaining in the game.
The second unit featured during the final 10 minutes of the game where Kavon Booker scored four straight points including a dunk. Marshal Johnson also got on the score sheet for the first time this season with back-to-back layups with less than five minutes left in regulation.
Grant was one of four Buffs in double figures with 16 points going 7-of-10 from the floor and 2-of-4 from 3-point range along with nine rebounds. Brown finished with a career-high 15 points after going a career-best 5-of-7 from the free throw line. Geddis reached double figures for the ninth game this season with Fugett finishing with 12 points, a career-high eight assists, six rebounds and four steals.
WT returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 1, when they host UT Permian Basin. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
